Wings Post-Game: No Time Like Overtime!

The Red Wings once again got off to a very slow start, full of giveaways and penalties. Only 3:39 into the period, Boston struck first.

The poor period continued for Detroit as they went the first 10:59 without a shot. Then, Andreas Athanasiou happened.

AA’s speed continues to impress and it lit a bit of a fire under the Wings as they started to shoot more. Then, in the last five minutes of the period, Jonathan Ericsson broke his stick on an attempted shot leaving David Pastrnak free to take a pass at centre ice. In order to not give him the breakaway, Ericsson used his broken stick to block the pass. Not a bad idea, though it resulted in a penalty. Of course, Boston converted on the ensuing powerplay.

The second period didn’t start much better for Detroit as they gave up the first four shots of the period, despite Boston taking an early penalty. But it only took about six minutes for Mike Green to find the back of the net with a shot from the point that redirected off a Boston skate in front of the net..

From there, the Wings started to find their game a little more, getting more shots off and controlling the play a little better. It payed off, as Tatar scored his ninth of the season midway through the period.

Boston didn’t back down, though. They failed to score in the second, but they still outshot the Wings 12-8 in the second period. This didn’t get better in the third. The Red Wings went on to surrender their highest goals against tally of the season. Along the way to this little milestone, they gave up a goal to Brad Marchand almost halfway through the period. The game would end 3-3, with the shot tally 46-24 in favour of Boston. This would be the fourth straight game the Wings take to OT.

In overtime, the Red Wings would last almost the entire five minutes before Pastrnak managed to fire home a one-timer from the high slot. After a quick review for offside, the goal was deemed good and the Red Wings would be sent home with only a single point.

If you watched the game, you don’t need this chart to tell you that they Red Wings were badly outplayed for most of the game. The Bruins spent a lot of time in the Red Wings zone directing pucks to the net. The Red Wings, as they do, did a lot of passing in the offensive zone.

Tonight’s Motor City MVP goes to Jared Coreau for turning away 45 of Boston’s 49 shots. Coreau was fantastic and kept his team close for the entire period. How the Red Wings allowed their opponents to take that many shots is something they should reflect on overnight to make sure they don’t allow it again tomorrow.

The Red Wings are back in action tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena against their Centennial Classic rivals Toronto Maple Leafs. Gametime is 7:00 P.M. and you can catch the game on Fox Sports Detroit or Sportsnet if you’re in Canada. As always, Brock Seguin will your pre-game bright and early right here at wingsnation.com.