FINAL SCORE (Hi Dad!)
Red Wings 2, Ducks 1 in a shootout.
THE RUNDOWN
Wearing their road white sweaters, the Wings seemed to play like they were the visitors — vulnerable and not necessarily in control of action, generally the opposite of how things have gone at the Joe. Third string goaltender Joey MacDonald kept the Wings in the game, stopping 28 shots in regulation (including 13 in the third). The Ducks abysmal power play didn’t help them any, going 0-for-7, including an attempt in overtime.
A crazy overtime wasn’t enough, and we’d head to a shootout, where it’s anyone’s guess…
The Wings would win their 19th straight at home on the strength of a Todd Bertuzzi shootout goal…
BULLETS OF IMPORTANCE
- Unfortunately first goal of the game, as George Parros re-directs a shot from the point to make it 1-0 Ducks. The play would be reviewed, because it looked like he may have kicked it in, but ultimately it was decided that the puck made contact with his stick, and not with his boot. Prior to the goal, the Wings were in complete control of the game — holding the Ducks to zero shots on two power play opportunities, and transitioning out of the defensive zone quickly. Crummy bounce.
- The lead wouldn’t last into the locker room, though, as Jakub Kindl sends a beauty of a shot through the slot. The tying goal was initially credited to Kindl, but the reviews clearly show that Justin Abdelkader got a stick on it just above the crease. The Wings and Ducks would each have one after one.
- There would be no scoring in the second, but there were plenty of close calls. Nick Lidstrom hit a post for the second time in as many periods… Ryan Getzlaf had a wide open net and somehow flubbed it… the Ducks had a goal waived off after committing goaltender interference… another puck got by MacDonald, but Val Filppula was johnny-on-the-spot and swatted it away. The score was 1-1 going into the second intermission, just like the first.
- More of the same in the third period, but the Ducks turned up the heat, peppering Joey MacDonald with more than a dozen shots in the final frame. The score would remain 1-1 after three and off to sudden death we’d go.
- Brad Stuart would take a penalty in overtime, which is trouble, and the closest either team came to a goal was a Pavel Datsyuk shorthanded opportunity in which he drew his own penalty. Three-on-three hockey certainly opens the ice up, and Corey Perry took another penalty. You can’t have fewer than three players on the ice so, they gave the Wings an extra skater, making it 4-on-3, which became 5-on-3 as Stuart’s original penalty expired. Nevertheless, we’d head to a shootout with the score still tied 1-1.
- DETROIT SHOOTERS: Datsyuk (goal), Hudler (miss), Bertuzzi (goal)
- ANAHEIM SHOOTERS: Selanne (goal), Perry (miss), Ryan (save)
BULLETS OF LESS IMPORTANCE
- Congratulations to Tomas Holmstrom, who played his 1,000th NHL game tonight. He became only the sixth Red Wing to hit the milestone — quite a feat. It may have gone unnoticed, but Todd Bertuzzi was giving his teammate the stick-tap salute as he skated back to the bench after his first shift.
- Likewise, congratulations to Nicklas Lidstrom, who played his 1,549th games with the Red Wings, tying him with Alex Delvecchio for second-most among all Detroit Red Wings. In just another 138 games, Lidstrom will tie Gordie Howe for #1. Fingers crossed for two more seasons of the Perfect Human.
- Happy 25th birthday to Jakub Kindl.
DISCH APPROVED “HORSECOP” OF THE GAME
Joey MacDonald played his ass off — particularly in the third period. Made a ton of important saves and proved he belongs in the net while Jimmy Howard is missing time with a broken finger.
THE RIGGY “SHITBOX” OF THE GAME
Jonathan Ericsson had a rough night, getting beaten a handful of times and making poor decisions other times. Come to think of it, a lot of the defense — minus Lidstrom and Kindl — have played better games. Honorable mention to Todd Bertuzzi, who had dinner reservations several times at Le Chateau Box.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Wings invite the Flyers into the Joe on Sunday. Puck drops at 7:30pm as they go for 20 straight at home — which would tie the NHL record for consecutive wins on home ice. They’ll have a chance at the record against one of the teams that currently holds the record (the other is Boston).
I’ve got to call an unsportsmanlike on you for the Honorable Mention on Bert! The first penalty was a bench minor because only the Penguins can play with 6 men on the ice. Plus that SO goal was a thing of beauty. You just knew that Bert knew and Hiller knew that the puck was going in the net the minute he picked up the puck on the redline.
The more I think about the home winning streak, I can see Mike Milbury or Don Cherry or somebody of their ilk pointing out that a few of them have been shootout wins. In the “good ol’ days”, these games would have ended in ties. The longest home unbeaten streak seems to belong to the Canadiens- 34 games in 76-77. If couchpotatohockey.com (now updated with 2003-04 stats!) can be believed.
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