After being shellacked by both Boston and Calgary, we needed a win last night. We needed scoring from somewhere besides the top six. We needed a strong performance from our goalie. Thankfully, we got all of those things, and Detroit earned a much needed win. They were certainly outplayed in the first period, but after that they got down to business, and were able to come out on top of the Oilers 5-2.
This breakaway attempt for Justin Abdelkader was pretty funny, as he got a case of the “Helmer Hands,” but I think I want to marry Danny DeKeyser’s stretch-pass. It was majestic.
Down 1-0, with a carryover power play at the start of the 2nd period, Detroit was able to get on the board thanks to a snipe from Niklas Kronwall. Great play by Erik Cole to drop the puck back and immediately get out of the way. He let Edmonton’s defensemen screen the goalie, and Kronwall buried it, top-shelf.
Detroit’s next goal came from my pride and joy, Riley Sheahan. Great work by Teemu Pulkkinen to get his first NHL asist by throwing the puck at Ben Scrivens‘ pads. Gustav Nyquist, in Zetterberg fashion, dishes a nice backhand pass, and Riley makes no mistake to bury it in the wide open net.
It was a big night for Teemu Pulkkinen, as he achieved his first career NHL multi-point game. He scored the game-winning goal on a backhand rebound from Pavel Datsyuk. You’ve gotta give Tomas Tatar some props for creating this play by forcing a turnover in the neutral zone, which lead to a vintage Pavel zone entry, and a great top-shelf snipe by Teemu.
There were two empty-net goals, and empty-netters aren’t always that exciting, but this one was cool. Pavel Datsyuk scored from 190 feet. C’mon, that’s pretty damn impressive.
Jimmy Howard had a strong game, and bounced back after letting in an early goal (which I thought was pretty generous of the refs to not blow the whistle) from Rob Klinkhammer chipping the puck into the net while it was between Howard’s pads.
Good win, now the team has a couple of days to ready themselves for the next opponent, as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Joe.
P.S. – Please don’t send Teemu back down. Okay, thanks!
LGRW
