Welcome back, Red Wings.
We missed you.
The 6-game nightmare is finally over. And thank goodness! The Red Wings came out with energy and looked determined to give a full 60 minute effort tonight. After scoring six goals in six games, the Wings buried five tonight and looked like the team we saw win five-in-a-row to start the season.
It seemed like all four lines were rolling and cycling the puck in the offensive zone. Every single Red Wing player registered a shot on goal except Mike Commodore, which is okay., he's not paid to take shots. Nine players earned a point tonight. Lidstrom (2G, A), Franzen (G, 2A), and White (2A) all had multi-point nights. Add in some solid defense all-around and Howard's second shutout of the season, and I think it's safe to say that we can all move away from the ledge and the panic button for tonight.
Bullets of awesomeness after the jump.
First Period
- The Wings came out in this game with what J.J. calls "jump." They were buzzing on the forecheck. They were backchecking. They stayed in the Ducks' zone for periods of time. It wasn't the one-and-done in the offense zone Wings we've come to know during the 6-game losing streak.
- At one point during the 1st period Helm was almost murdered by a hit in front of the net. He lost his helmet. I really wish we could've seen a replay. Unfortunately, working in an NHL production truck myself, I can understand that these things aren't always possible.
- I thought both power plays weren't too shabby. The second of the period started out slow, but finished strong. Neither resulted in a goal, but there were a lot of chances and Homer was doing some nice work in front of the net while the forwards and defensemen cycled the puck around.
- Kronwall's goal came right after the first power play ended via a slapshot from the point. Kronner got the puck through traffic. Mule was screening Hiller down low and Zetterberg was in the slot. The Wings went to the net and got traffic in front. Kronner made sure to get the puck low and to the net and it resulted with a red light.
- Two goals in 50 second. Yup. If you thought the Wings had a good first period, well, they had an even better second period. Zetterberg finally found the back of the net after a pass from Franzen. Hank beat Corey Perry (haha you suck Perry), took the pass skate to stick and buried it. This play was a nice result of hustle for Zetterberg and Corey Perry sucking. The second goal came from the Ageless One Nick Lidstrom. Excellent play down low from the fourth line (Miller, Emmerton, & Brunnstrom) resulted in a one timer for Lidstrom.
- The Wings had two nice penalty kills, included a few seconds of five-on-three. The too many men on the ice call was a bit weak.
- Breakaways...yeah...Cleary did his very best Mikael Samuelsson impression (hate that guy). One could also argue it was Jason Williams-like as well. Either way, I think we can at the very least be thankful those guys are no where near this team anymore. Filppula provided us with breakaway number two of the period. I thought Fowler did a nice job to disrupt Flip without taking a penalty. Val couldn't score, but at least he took out Hiller.
- Back to Corey Perry sucking for a moment. The Ducks looked like they cut the score from 3-0 to 3-1, but Perry backed right into Jimmy nullifying the goal. Easy call to make. Glad to see a goal actually get waived off when Jimmy is interfered with. That doesn't seem to happen to often. Corey Perry sucks.
- Another strong period from the Wings. While Ken and Mick gushed about how classy and old Lidstrom and Selanne are, Teemu decided to get a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty followed by getting tossed from the game. Lidstrom went on to score his second goal of the night. Our old guy is better than their old guy.
- The Mule was alive tonight. Six shots on goal for No. 93 and a goal to cap of the evening. This game is an example of the Franzen this team needs. Used his body in the offensive zone, shot the puck on net all night, and set up his teammates. We always say he needs to be more consistent. He really does. More nights like tonight, please.
- How about the shots on goal? Wings outshot the Ducks 50-22. Damn. You can't score if you don't shoot.
- Props to Jimmy Howard. He didn't see a lot of action most the night, but was still very sharp when the pucks came his way. The kid just loves playing against the Ducks too. In his last five starts against Anaheim he has three shutouts.