The Wings came out of the Christmas break trying to build off a slump-busting victory over Buffalo on Tuesday. With a visit into Ottawa to face off against the Senators, Detroit managed to put together a second consecutive win, but not in pretty fashion. After being outplayed for the first two periods, the Wings managed to pull off a 3-2 victory in overtime.
It’s a weird feeling thinking that the referees backed into a performance where the power play differential was probably right, but for the wrong reasons. Ottawa got five chances to Detroit’s three, and based on the way they controlled the puck, it made sense, but there were frustrating non-calls on both sides that made this feel like playoff rules were in effect. Detroit was the only team to score a power play goal, going 1-for 3 and holding Ottawa to 0/5. Shots were 33-27 in favor of the Sens.
Jimmy Howard made a bad mistake leading to the first Ottawa goal and got hung out to dry on the second. He had to make more saves than Anderson on the other end and he did. I thought he tracked the puck extremely well while shorthanded.
Guide to plus/minus adjustments
The Goals
1st Period 13:41 – Ottawa Goal: Mike Hoffman (poke check) from Mark Borowiecki and Bobby Ryan
The Sens get the first goal as a weak wrister turns into a juicy rebound on the back door on which Hoffman wins the race and pops over Howard. After a defensive zone faceoff win, the Wings have trouble getting the puck out of their zone, culminating in a turnover where Jonathan Ericsson blindly throws a pass to an empty corner of the ice and the Senators take control. A few passes around the edge later and Borowiecki throws a shot from the point that pops in and out of Howard’s glove before landing to his left where Hoffman and Ericsson are battling for position. Riggy tries to sweep the puck behind the net instead of canceling out Hoffman and pays for it by having Hoffman’s stick get in first and push it over Howard. I’m going to clear the minuses for Abdelkader, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg here, as Howard’s inability to glove this puck is a bad factor in creating the goal. Kronwall will have his minus halved, but I think he needs to play tighter on Zibanejad in front; his failure to do so is enough to keep some blame on this goal. Ericsson will get a minus for turning the puck over and another minus for his coverage on Hoffman. Two mistakes that lead directly to a goal that should have never happened. Inexcusable for Ericsson here. Just bad play.
1st Period 19:47 – Detroit Goal: Justin Abdelkader (backhand) from Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall
The Wings pull even just before the first period ends as Abdelkader finds a puck bouncing out from behind the net after a sharp-angle save by Anderson puts it there. Datsyuk wins the faceoff in the Ottawa zone, but the cycle gets interrupted at the left-wide half-wall. Fortunately, Datsyuk is there to keep Chiasson from getting it out and then is able to battle well enough with both Chiasson and Pageau to prevent them from being able to get it past Kronwall at the point on a clearing attempt. With Z there to help set up a bit of a pick, Kronwall is able to walk it off the wall and threaten a cut through the middle of the ice which draws all the Ottawa defenders away from the wall. This gives Zetterberg room to recover a pass off the wall from Kronner made from above the top of the circles. From the outside of the circle, Zetterberg simply slaps it on net low and hard. Andersson kicks the puck out behind the net, causing it to bounce back out the other side and onto the stick of Abdelkader, who pushes it back in towards the net and gets a bounce in off a sprawling Anderson. I’m going to give Datsyuk a plus and a half on all the work he does to make this play happen. Kronwall will also get a half-plus for the smart jump off the wall that draws defenders away.
2nd Period 13:16 – Ottawa Goal: Clarke MacArthur (wrist shot) from Danny DeKeyser
Ottawa retakes the lead as MacArthur picks up a puck in the middle off a blocked centering attempt and snaps it straight in. The play starts as Ericsson steps up in the Ottawa zone to break up the Senators’ transition, allowing DeKeyser to get to the puck that gets dumped out to center and push it back up ice away from a hard-charging Mark Stone. Ericsson is coming back to get into position as he skates into the puck. Stone immediately turns to pressure Riggy and is joined by MacArthur pressing from behind and Turris coming back from the opposite wing to close down space. Riggy tries to go back to DK to reset the play, but has it blocked by Stone to Turris, who takes it up the boards before throwing a cnetering pass from the corner. DK is there in position with MacArthur bearing down on him. As the puck gets there, DeKeyser pops it up ice to try and start a breakout. Unfortunately, he pops it straight onto MacArthur’s stick and C-Mac slams it straight in. I’m going to clear the forwards here as Weiss, Miller and Glendening do nothing wrong to cause this. Ericsson will get a turnover minus for his ill-conceived play that leads to the rush while DeKeyser will also get a turnover minus for getting to fancy with the intercepted centering attempt instead of just playing it off to the corner or literally doing anything but teeing it up for MacArthur.
3rd Period 03:57 – Detroit Goal (PP): Henrik Zetterberg (slapshot) from Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk
The Wings tie the game just three seconds into a power play as a faceoff win turns into a one-timerthat Hank blasts past Craig Anderson. Datsyuk wins the faceoff perfectly to Kronwall at the boards. Kronner immediately passes it to Zetterberg, who coasted immediately to the inner top of the opposite side faceoff circle after the win. Kronner’s pass is straight in Z’s wheelhouse and he blasts it in on the one-timer. Half-plus to Datsyuk for winning the faceoff perfectly.
Overtime 04:12 – Detroit Goal: Gustav Nyquist (wrist shot) unassisted
Gustav Nyquist picks up a loose puck and creates the longest unassisted goal I think I’ve ever seen to win the game and keep Detroit out of the shootout. Helm wins a faceoff, which leads to a great opportunity for Smith off a Franzen feed to the middle which misses wide. Helm chops it off the back of the net, but loses it on the double-team from MacArthur and Ceci. Franzen hustles over to hound Ceci as he turns up ice, eventually persuading him to spin back at the half-wall to try and create space. Instead, pressure from Helm and Franzen force him to dump it back behind his own net where there are no Senators players. Instead, what the puck finds is Gustav Nyquist beating Clarke MacArthur to the puck and starting the game-ending sequence. Through body positioning and changes of speed, Nyquist drags Macarthur around the perimeter of the Ottawa zone twice before spinning away from him in the corner to Anderson’s left. Nyquist re-reverses himself and again starts cycling around the zone counter-clockwise, having esapes MacArthur completely thanks to the Sens’ player’s decision to seal the near post (where Helm is already battling with Ceci. Nyquist gets space to come around the other side around Cowen thanks to Johan Franzen positioning himself at the far post and holding off the big lug. Cowen releases Franzen to chase Nyquist, but he isn’t fase enough to angle him into the boards, allowing Nyquist to come up to the top of the zone. Kyle Turris is up here as well, but as Nyquist approaches, Brendan Smith leaves the point to start a jump lower in the zone. This move makes Turris ignore Nyquist in favor of trying to steal a pass. Cowen crossing over with Turris gives Nyquist the space to turn to his forehand at the top middle of the zone. Faking another trip around the zone before completing the move to his forehand allows him to cut back across and start his final descent down the middle of the ice. Cowen is too flat-footed to keep Nyquist away from the top of the circle, which is where he gets before snapping it in through the traffic created by Helm holding off Ceci at the net-front and Smith covered in the slot by Turris having just switched off positions with Franzen. I’m going to give Helm a full screener’s assist and Smith a half on this play. Anderson doesn’t see much of what Nyquist is doing because of Helm being right in his face and he picks up the shot a little late because of Smith’s cross in front of him just as Nyquist starts the release. I’m also going to give a half-plus for Smith, Franzen, and Helm on this play for all three running a part of this play which forces a defender to back off Nyquist and give him space to operate. Finally, I’m going to give Nyquist two bonus pluses for the longest fruitful trip around the offensive zone that I think I’ve ever seen.
The Penalties
1st Period 02:33 – Colin Greening (interference) against Brendan Smith): Ottawa ruins a good cycle as Greening knocks Smith down in the middle of the ice during a battle for position. Smith will get a half-plus for the good on-ice battle.
1st Period 14:06 – Tomas Tatar (interference) against Clarke MacArthur: Just after the Hoffman goal, Tatar takes an interference penalty in his own zone as Ottawa continues to buzz. Tatar hits MacArthur away from the puck in the corner, which is not allowed. Minus for Tatar.
2nd Period 00:44 – Niklas Kronwall (hooking) against Mika Zibanejad: The Wings get off to a slow start in the second and Kronwall ends up taking a hooking call as Zibanejad takes the puck from him and he tries a stick-lift to get it back, but ends up getting too far in on the hands. Kronwall will get a minus.
2nd Period 03:12 – Alex Chiasson (high sticking) against Jakub Kindl: Detroit gets the next opportunity as Kindl and Chiasson chase into the Wings’ zone for a loose puck. Kindl takes a step to get into Chiasson’s lane and takes a stick to the side of his head for the trouble. It’s a dumb play by Chiasson, but Kindl will earn a half-plus for creating it.
2nd Period 16:00 – Brendan Smith (tripping) against Colin Greening: Ottawa gets another good scoring chance as a puck gets through and Howard loses track of it. Greening is the closes to it as Smith tries to pull it away. Instead, Smith ends up pulling his feet out from under him and sits. Minus for Smith.
3rd Period 03:55 – Mark Borowiecki (interference) against Johan Franzen: Off a faceoff win for Ottawa in the defensive zone, Franzen jumps immediately forward to jump on the puck and Borowiecki steps into him. Franzen will get a plus for the hustle.
3rd Period 06:07 – Jonathan Ericsson (high sticking) against Bobby Ryan: The Wings go shorthanded as Ottawa starts a breakout that Bobby Ryan doesn’t feel like relying on the refs to call Ericsson for interference after the big guy skates into his lane to slow him down. Ryan folds himself like an unreliable chair and Riggy sits for it. Even though this is a shameful dive, I’m going to give Ericsson minus for being in that position in the first place.
3rd Period 13:31 – Tomas Tatar (tripping) against Kyle Turris: The Wings go shorthanded again as Tatar takes an offensive zone penalty for tripping up Turris. Minus for Tatar.
3rd Period 18:54 – Gustav Nyquist and Milan Michalek (slashing) against each other: Swordfighting isn’t allowed. No adjustment.
Total Adjustments
| Player | GP | Official +/- | Adjusted +/- | G+ | Cov- | Turn- | Plty- | Plty+ | Chg+ | Chg- | PP+Lost | PK-Clear | GA-Clear | GSaved+ | Adj Diff |
| Stephen Weiss | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Henrik Zetterberg | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Johan Franzen | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | |||||||||
| Justin Abdelkader | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Tomas Tatar | 1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | |||||||||||
| Riley Sheahan | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Tomas Jurco | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Gustav Nyquist | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Darren Helm | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | ||||||||||
| Pavel Datsyuk | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Luke Glendening | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Drew Miller | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Niklas Kronwall | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | -1 | 0.5 | 0 | |||||||||
| Jonathan Ericsson | 1 | -1 | -5 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -4 | ||||||||
| Brendan Smith | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | -1 | 0.5 | 0 | ||||||||
| Jakub Kindl | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| Kyle Quincey | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Danny DeKeyser | 1 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -1 |
| Player | Screener’s Assists |
| Justin Abdelkader | 6.5 |
| Luke Glendening | 2.5 |
| Johan Franzen | 2 |
| Darren Helm | 3.5 |
| Drew Miller | 1.5 |
| Riley Sheahan | 2 |
| Tomas Jurco | 1 |
| Tomas Tatar | 1 |
| Stephen Weiss | 1 |
| Joakim Andersson | 0.5 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 0.5 |
| Brendan Smith | 0.5 |
Possession Metrics
Even-strength Corsi numbers provided thanks to NHL.com via War-On-Ice.com.
| Name | Pos | iCF | C+/- | F+/- | ZSO | ZSD | ZS % | TOI | CF60 | CA60 |
| Riley.Sheahan | C | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 88.89% | 11.5 | 57.6 | 26.2 |
| Tomas.Tatar | L | 4 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 100.00% | 11.9 | 55.3 | 30.2 |
| Stephen.Weiss | C | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 66.67% | 7.5 | 71.5 | 31.8 |
| Danny.Dekeyser | D | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 40.00% | 13.2 | 68.3 | 50.1 |
| Kyle.Quincey | D | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 40.00% | 13.6 | 61.7 | 52.8 |
| Tomas.Jurco | RL | 2 | -1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 45.45% | 11.7 | 41.1 | 46.2 |
| Justin.Abdelkader | RL | 4 | -2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 75.00% | 12.3 | 53.8 | 63.6 |
| Henrik.Zetterberg | CL | 1 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 80.00% | 14.2 | 46.3 | 54.8 |
| Luke.Glendening | C | 1 | -3 | -3 | 1 | 6 | 14.29% | 7.7 | 31.1 | 54.4 |
| Jakub.Kindl | D | 1 | -3 | -4 | 5 | 0 | 100.00% | 11.2 | 32.2 | 48.3 |
| Gustav.Nyquist | RL | 2 | -4 | -2 | 4 | 2 | 66.67% | 12.5 | 43.3 | 62.5 |
| Pavel.Datsyuk | CL | 1 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 83.33% | 13.4 | 40.2 | 58.1 |
| Brendan.Smith | D | 0 | -5 | -5 | 5 | 0 | 100.00% | 15 | 32 | 52 |
| Drew.Miller | LR | 0 | -5 | -5 | 1 | 6 | 14.29% | 8.8 | 27.4 | 61.7 |
| Johan.Franzen | L | 2 | -5 | -1 | 4 | 2 | 66.67% | 11.3 | 42.6 | 69.3 |
| Darren.Helm | CL | 2 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 3 | 40.00% | 11.2 | 37.6 | 69.9 |
| Jonathan.Ericsson | D | 1 | -6 | -3 | 7 | 4 | 63.64% | 19.3 | 40.5 | 59.2 |
| Jimmy.Howard | G | 0 | -6 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 61.54% | 45 | 45.4 | 53.4 |
| Niklas.Kronwall | D | 2 | -6 | -2 | 7 | 4 | 63.64% | 18.6 | 38.7 | 58 |
Not too often you see the top line lose their matchup, but Datsyuk’s group faced off against Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan and got the worst of that competition. The Kid Line did their job against MacArthur-Turris-Stone, also seeing more of Erik Karlsson than any of the Sens’ defenseman. Helm’s line took on Michalek-Pageau-Chiasson, and got the worst of it. Finally, the fourth line’s usage was dictated more by their zone starts than by a matchup against Ottawa’s fourth.
From the eye test, I’m most surprised about Helm’s numbers. I thought he played above the ratings he got, even with the tougher zone starts.
| Name | Pos | iCF | C+/- | F+/- | ZSO | ZSD | ZS % | TOI | CF60 | CA60 |
| Tomas.Tatar | L | 4 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 100.00% | 11.9 | 55.3 | 30.2 |
| Jakub.Kindl | D | 1 | -3 | -4 | 5 | 0 | 100.00% | 11.2 | 32.2 | 48.3 |
| Brendan.Smith | D | 0 | -5 | -5 | 5 | 0 | 100.00% | 15 | 32 | 52 |
| Riley.Sheahan | C | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 88.89% | 11.5 | 57.6 | 26.2 |
| Pavel.Datsyuk | CL | 1 | -4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 83.33% | 13.4 | 40.2 | 58.1 |
| Henrik.Zetterberg | CL | 1 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 80.00% | 14.2 | 46.3 | 54.8 |
| Justin.Abdelkader | RL | 4 | -2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 75.00% | 12.3 | 53.8 | 63.6 |
| Stephen.Weiss | C | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 66.67% | 7.5 | 71.5 | 31.8 |
| Gustav.Nyquist | RL | 2 | -4 | -2 | 4 | 2 | 66.67% | 12.5 | 43.3 | 62.5 |
| Johan.Franzen | L | 2 | -5 | -1 | 4 | 2 | 66.67% | 11.3 | 42.6 | 69.3 |
| Jonathan.Ericsson | D | 1 | -6 | -3 | 7 | 4 | 63.64% | 19.3 | 40.5 | 59.2 |
| Niklas.Kronwall | D | 2 | -6 | -2 | 7 | 4 | 63.64% | 18.6 | 38.7 | 58 |
| Jimmy.Howard | G | 0 | -6 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 61.54% | 45 | 45.4 | 53.4 |
| Tomas.Jurco | RL | 2 | -1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 45.45% | 11.7 | 41.1 | 46.2 |
| Danny.Dekeyser | D | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 40.00% | 13.2 | 68.3 | 50.1 |
| Kyle.Quincey | D | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 40.00% | 13.6 | 61.7 | 52.8 |
| Darren.Helm | CL | 2 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 3 | 40.00% | 11.2 | 37.6 | 69.9 |
| Luke.Glendening | C | 1 | -3 | -3 | 1 | 6 | 14.29% | 7.7 | 31.1 | 54.4 |
| Drew.Miller | LR | 0 | -5 | -5 | 1 | 6 | 14.29% | 8.8 | 27.4 | 61.7 |
This is more like we’re used to seeing with the fourth line getting heavy defensive zone starts thanks to the Wings not having last change. It’s a bit surprising that Detroit had the territorial advantage on faceoffs, consiring they lost the overall possession battle, but it does seem that Anderson was doing a bit more game management than Howard was, so that could be an explanation for it.
Check out more from war-on-ice.com, including the visualized shift chart here.
Final Say
Overall, the Wings were lucky to escape with a point, let alone a victory. I’m ok with that. They’re not going to dominate every game and stolen wins count for just as much as the dominant ones. I’m going to remain incredibly worried out the Wings’ ability at the top defensive pairing until Jonathan Ericsson puts together a string of good games again. He made way too many mistakes and got burned. Overall the defense wasn’t that good in this game, but he stood out. I thought the blueline in general really slowed down the transition game and that there were far too many cases of hte forwards playing the puck instead of the body.
Corsi Timeline from Hockeystats.ca
