WINGS POSTGAME: Do you believe in miracles?
By Cameron Kuom
4 years agoFor the first time in over four years, the Detroit Red Wings have defeated the Tampa bay Lightning. It’s been a long ride, but the club finally exercised their demons in a 5-4 shootout win. The big line of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi carried them to victory, the latter two of which registered four points each.
A strong first 50 minutes set up the victory, however that was almost spoiled by a late Tampa Bay comeback. After a thrilling 3-on-3 overtime, Larkin and Robby Fabbri came through in the shootout to squeak out the extra point.
Thoughts and Highlights
- The opening goal of the game came off a Robby Fabbri breakaway. Fabbri snuck onto the ice by a line change and was in the right place at the right. A turnover one way created the odd-man rush where Fabbri made no mistake.
- After that, it became the top-line show. Larkin drove the net in the dying seconds of period two and got rewarded. Credit to Anthony Mantha for delivering him the puck.
- Mantha got in on the fun after that. Early in the third period he converted on the power play to give Detroit a 3-2 lead.
- Three minutes later the Red Wings dynamic trio struck again. Tyler Bertuzzi to Mantha back to Bertuzzi to extend the lead. That capped off a four point performance for the wingers.
- Tampa staged a late comeback with goals from Brayden Point and Pat Maroon. Off to overtime the game went and it was the definition of heart attack hockey. There were no stoppages and a plethora of high-danger scoring chances ensued. The most notable being from Ryan McDonagh, who missed a wide open net.
- In the shootout Mikhail Sergachev scored in the opening round. Jonathan Bernier stopped the next two shots, setting the stage for Robby Fabbri to win the game. BINGO!
Gif of the Game
The streak is over. It’s been a long time coming, but they finally did it.
Motor City MVP
The top-line
I couldn’t choose just one of Larkin, Mantha or Bertuzzi. The three look to be back to their usual shenanigans, carrying the team to victory. They closed out last season red hot as well, which is crucial for this year’s final ten games. The Red Wings will need a big final stretch to avoid making history for all the wrong reasons.
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