Wings Post-Game: Hometown Hero
By Nick Seguin
7 years agoAfter a tough loss to the Sabres Monday night, the Wings were to La Belle Province to face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday for the second half of their back-to-back. Going into the game, The Habs were leading the Atlantic Division having just defeated Ottawa two games in a row over the weekend, improving their record in the last ten games to 8-2-0. The Wings, already feeling pretty cold, looked to transfer some of that to the red hot Habs. Did they achieve that? Let’s find out.
The Rundown
The Red Wings actually had a good first period! 39 seconds into the period, Nathan Beaulieu took an interference penalty on Tomas Nosek and Justin Abdelkader buried the puck on the powerplay. Less than a minute in and the Wings were up. What a world!
Though it was a little back and forth, the Wings finished the period with a 12-8 edge in shots.
The second period was much worse for Detroit. Though the team only took one penalty – Nosek for tripping about halfway through the period – Montreal really turned the heat up. They peppered Jimmy Howard with 15 shots (Detroit only had 9) and really drove the play in the direction of the Red Wings net. But Howie kept the puck out and the Wings would escape the period holding onto that 1-0 lead.
Montreal would build on all that momentum in the third. It felt like most of the period took place in the Red Wings’ zone. DeKeyser took an interference penalty eight minutes in and the Habs almost scored multiple times. But the Wings were holding on. It was by a thread, but they were holding on. Late in the period, Mantha made a beautiful pass to set up Sheahan, all alone behind Montreal’s defense, who got a slap shot off that Al Montoya saved.
Shortly after that, the Habs would tie the game when Artturi Lehkonen would carry the puck over Detroit’s blueline and rip a shot past Howard.
In overtime, the chances went back and forth as they do in 3-on-3. Athanasiou had a really good chance on a wraparound. In the end, it would be the Quebec native Anthony Mantha, performing in front of friends and family. Mantha put an end to the game off a fantastic pass from Danny DeKeyser, a beautiful dangle, and a snipe past Montoya.
The Stats
So the first period was okay, but what the hell happened in the rest of it?! The Wings were outplayed by a very physical Habs team who created multiple turnovers by throwing the body around. Detroit held on, but they didn’t look like a threatening force against the Division leaders.
Motor City MVP
Tonight’s Motor City MVP is Jimmy Howard. Howie played his guts out the entire game, stopping 35 out of 36 shots and holding on to a shutout for 57:30. Coming off his injury, he seems to have picked up right where he left off. He had a fantastic game tonight and the boys rewarded him with an OT victory.
Up Next
The Wings are off to celebrate this one until Friday when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Joe. This game will have big playoff implications for the Lightning so we’ll see if Detroit can spoil that for them. Game time is 7:30 PM EST and you can catch the game on FS-D or SUN. As always, Brock Seguin will have your pre-game report Thursday afternoon before the game right here at Wings Nation.
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