1st Period
We begin with honoring my first favorite goalie and Conn Smythe Hall of Famer Mike Vernon. Let’s see the same defensive stoutness that existed while Vernon wore the Winged Wheel, shall we?
Made it all the way to the 20 second mark without a zebra leg in the air. Perron to the sin bin for tripping in the offensive zone about 58 minutes earlier than usual. Larkin and Seider each have a couple of nice plays to kill off the first minute, Tarasenko rings the iron, and then Giroux gets a goal after Lyon loses control of his positioning.
Detroit 0 – Ottawa 1
A little back and forth for a few minutes, but not much of note. Larkin has a nice takeaway but can’t handle it. Later in the shift, he gets rewarded with a thug slash from Tkachuk for no apparent reason, and we’re off to a RRRRRRED WINGS POWER PLAY!!!
Perron had a delicious point-blank chance with tons of time, but Korpisalo made a great aggressive play to prevent the goal. Debrincat had a great chance in the slot, but Brannstrom slashed his stick just before the Cat was able to get a clean shot off. 5-on-3 Red Wings for 38 seconds! Second unit comes out, Seider does everyone’s favorite drop pass play to everyone’s favorite winger. Kane makes a sweet move to gain the zone, a sweeter pass to Debrincat, but Debrincat tries the give and go instead of taking the shot and Kane can’t make good with the puck in his skates a bit.
The Wings get a couple of near chances after the 5-on-3, but “near” remains the key word. Still, the Wings seem to be buzzing and are looking dangerous. Sprong in particular has created a lot of chances for himself, but he’s been unable to put one on net.
Gostisbehere had a really strong individual effort and took a punch to the face from Stutzle for his effort and we’re off to another RRRRRED WINGS POWER PLAY!! Raymond has a grade-A opportunity off the draw but sends the shot high.
……
Everything has immediately changed, and it’s tough to keep writing about this game. Mathieu Joseph crosschecked Dylan Larkin straight to the back of the neck at the front of the net, and Larkin was completely unconscious before he hit the ice. Larkin remained motionless face down on the ice for several minutes. Very, very scary stuff.
Joseph was initially handed a misconduct, but upon review, they give the ejection to Perron instead for going after Zub. This game is suddenly meaningless in every way to me.
A Red Wings 4 on 3 ensues. As the penalty to Stutzle expires, Lyon moves the puck up quickly after a clear and Kane gets his first as a Red Wing!
Detroit 1 – Ottawa 1
Now that we’re down to 16 skaters, it’s time for guys to step up. Veleno sure looks to have put his name in that hat. Kane too. Oh, we’re also on an extended penalty kill by the way. You know, because Dylan Larkin was knocked unconscious from behind. Lyon makes a spectacular save on a Tkachuk one-timer. Moments later, Tarasenko barely has a point blank opportunity get deflected off net. The home crowd is booing 21 every time he touches the puck, but not nearly loud enough. Perron’s psychotic revenge penalty is killed.
End 1. Detroit 1 – Ottawa 1 … All thoughts to our Captain. Please be okay, Dylan.
2nd Period
Well, we’re back. Lyon makes a big save early. Korpisalo pays one back. Fabbri is back on the bench after an extended absence earlier with a cage and some patchwork bandaging on his cheekbone. And Rasmussen heads to the box with a stunningly stupid high sticking that was nowhere near a head or neck. With 10 seconds left on the penalty, Chycrun sends the slowest pass ever to Tarasenko, Chiarot feels no reason to pressure the puck, and Tarasenko buries the shot under Lyon’s glove.
Detroit 1 – Ottawa 2
You can tell the Red Wings are wanting to get quick changes. They seem to be cheating a bit towards the bench. Tough to get a change when you can’t control the puck, though. Maatta with a bad turnover. A bad idea when your defense partner is Holl. No damage done though. Crowd keeps getting louder every time 21 for Ottawa touches the puck, which makes me happy.
Korpisalo makes 3 incredible saves, which turns into a breakaway for the Senators. Husso definitely isn’t in net tonight because we just saw a save on a breakaway against! Walman to the box for a slash. Ottawa is already 2-for-3 on the man advantage tonight.
Lyon makes a pretty unbelievable save after a perfect looking shot-pass from Chycrun to Giroux who was all alone at the top of the crease. Senators get two more dangerous chances, but the Wings kill the penalty.
After the kill, the Senators get a few more scary looks, but Kane’s line gets the first extended possession in recent memory. They make a quicker-than-they-should change presumably due to the short bench, and sure enough, Kubalik puts a one-timer past Lyon off the rush.
Detroit 1 – Ottawa 3
Primary assist to the primary villain.
I’ve been trying to avoid this all night, but these refs are … not my favorite. Anyway, Wings to the power play after some goaltender interference. Seider starts it off with his 50th drop pass of the night and especially after last game I don’t think I’ve ever been this frustrated with Mo. Kane has a couple of nice passes and a pretty lame looking one timer and that’s the penalty.
Not much for several minutes other than the fact that the Wings have started really hitting. Seider, Debrincat, and Copp all throw some big ones. Jeff Petry even successfully negated a Tkachuk breakaway with a little physicality. Of course, immediately on the next shift, Petry tries to throw a hit as Stutzle and Batherson gain the zone, completely whiffs, and gets bailed out by Lyon on a quick 2-on-0.
The Senators have really dominated this period. They have more than triple the shots on goal the Wings have, and the Wings’ shots haven’t once looked dangerous. Raymond had a nice shift, really displaying his talents, but then he passed it to Petry. 3 minutes to go in the 2nd.
Good shift from Sprong. Nice individual rush from Seider. Even better goaltending from Korpisalo. He’s been outstanding when needed. Walman makes a lazy pass out of the d zone badly missing an open Sprong for the icing. Stutzle gets one on the ensuing faceoff.
Detroit 1 – Ottawa 4
Ottawa ices the puck with 18 and 11 to go, but the Wings just have no jump at all at this point.
End 2 Detroit 1 – Ottawa 4
3rd Period
Holy moly, Lalonde pulled a goalie. Reimer in for the third and I’ve got my opinions. Stutzle takes a normal hit and SportsNet spends way more time concerned for his well-being than they ever did for Larkin (who should’ve seen it coming, obviously).
Off the ensuing draw, Fischer immediately drops gloves with Joseph and he is quickly becoming a fan favorite, at least for this fan. Sportsnet commentators keep saying “unfortunate incident with Dylan Larkin” as Joseph smirks like a criminal in the box. I don’t think I have it in me to not say ugly, bitter things anymore tonight. Sorry, but I think it’s just going to be NHL play-by-play style recapping the rest of the way here.
18 minutes later and not much to really report. The good guys had a few more really good chances, but Korpisalo stood on his head all night. The Detroit Red Wings continue to employ Alex Tanguay. Sens grabbed a nonchalant empty netter from 180 feet.
Final Score: Detroit 1 – Ottawa 5
Final Thoughts:
Both Seider and Walman – who were mostly separated during this game – both looked objectively bad for a second game in a row. Kane and Debrincat looked threatening a few times, but for me they never really felt threatening and they were both noticeably bad defensively. Veleno had a great game even though he can’t win a faceoff. Gostisbehere had a very good game. I really like what Christian Fischer offers this team. Mathieu Joseph. The Wings didn’t do enough to win this game, but the refs sure did enough to screw them out of a chance.
Above everything, I hope for the best with Larkin’s health. Not just soon, but over the long-term.
