After a brutal 5-1 loss in game two, the Detroit Red Wings looked to gain some ground in front of a home crowd at the Joe Louis Arena. Petr Mrazek was pulled in game two after letting up four goals, but I wouldn’t really pin that on him. Tampa had some favorable bounces, and even though Detroit performed much better than they did in game one, they just couldn’t find the back of the net. That was not the case last night, let me tell you. The boys in red came, saw, and conquered after being dominated last game. They held the top-scoring team in the league scoreless, and only allowed 22 shots on goal. It was an all-around team effort, even though Petr stole the show.
GIF Time!
Pavel Datsyuk, you know, the guy who is real good at the hockey thing, opened the scoring with some redirection wizardry off a shot from Tomas Tatar. How he does it, I will never know. He enters the zone with such ridiculous grace.. I’ve been watching it for years and am still mesmerized by it every single time.
The second goal came on the power play from Riley Sheahan, on a brilliant setup by Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader. Hank does a masterful job at gaining the zone, and Abdelkader gets the puck into Riley’s hands and he makes it happen from there. What’s that? $100 for puppies and kitties? Okay!
Up 2-0 late in the third period, who else to plunge the dagger into Tampa’s chest but the pride of Mike Babcock, Luke Glendening. Number 41 on the ice, number one in our hearts.
Maybe the Bolts ringed it off the pipes a few times, maybe they missed a couple of wide-open chances.. It doesn’t really matter, because Petr Mrazek was absolutely brilliant in every other situation. The kid is money, and he’s becoming one of my most favorite players to watch.
The Joe was bumpin’ last night, gang. Detroit came home and handed Tampa Bay their second scoreless game this season, and believe it or not, both of those shutouts were at the hands of 23-year-old net-minder Petr Mrazek. The Czech goalie sensation competes. After being pulled in game two when he let up four goals, he bounced back and gave his team a dominant performance.
Detroit now leads the series 2-1, and looks to take it further on Thursday night in Detroit. After game two, I knew the team was playing better. They probably should not have won game one, but they’re performing at a different level right now. I believe. Do you?
Let’s Go Red Wings!
