Joey MacDonald Shines–Red Wings 2, Blue Jackets 0

After a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals in Detroit on Wednesday, the Red Wings traveled to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets.

After sitting out against the Capitals, Drew Miller wasted no time scoring his 8th goal of the season, just 33 seconds into the game. Darren Helm picked up the puck off the boards and carried it into the offensive zone. Helm put a shot on net and Patrick Eaves and Miller were crashing the net for a rebound, exactly what Columbus goalie Steve Mason gave up as he kicked it out to the right side. Miller was there to pick up the rebound and put the Red Wings up 1-0.

Miller’s goal was his 8th of the season and his 24th career, also earning him his 50th career point.

Valtteri Filppula added the second goal of the game for the Red Wings at 11:23 of the first period while on the power play. Filppula had the puck back at the blueline and dumped it low towards Dan Cleary. Cleary tied up Jan Hejda and Johan Franzen swooped in to pick the loose puck up. Franzen circled towards the front of the goal and slipped a no-look pass through three Columbus penalty killers to Filppula. Filppula had a wide open goal and didn’t miss from so close.

Filppula’s goal was his 15th of the season and his second in as many games.

Filppula’s goal gave the Red Wings the 2-0 lead and Joey MacDonald provided several quality stops to earn the shutout. Follow the jump for analysis, shot chart and video.

:: PLAYER OF THE GAME ::

Joey MacDonald

#31 / Goalie / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 197

Born: Feb 07, 1980

STATS: 37 SA, 37 S. 1.000 SV%, 0 GA.

:: ANALYSIS ::

Great game out of Joey MacDonald. He had several huge saves and although he struggled with rebound at times, he was solid when he needed to be and deserved the shutout. Good to see the team stay strong through the full 60 minutes to get him the shutout. Let’s face it, with the big win over the Capitals last night this game was a little unnerving and giving Jimmy Howard the night off probably made some feel even more so but Mac stood tall and preserved the lead to get the win.
It didn’t really seem like it, but the Blue Jackets out-shot the Red Wings 14-8 in the first period. It’s really surprising because the Wings seemed to own the possession in the first period and had great chances in the offensive zone. Wonder if that’s some of the home statistician bias? Probably not.
By contrast, the shot margin in the third period was 13-8 in favor of Columbus and it felt like it should have been a lot higher. By the end of the third period, the Wings were definitely getting tired and the back-to-back was starting to show. Thanks to Joey for getting the team out of town with the two points.
GLASSBANGERS IN ABUNDANCE.
Darren Helm was the best face-off man for the Red Wings tonight, winning 67% of his draws. He only won one of his four defensive zone draws but was perfect (5/5) in the neutral zone. Filppula only 2 of his 9 draws tonight (22%). Datsyuk won 4 of 5 offensive zone draws, all five against Sammy Pahlsson.
Brad Stuart led all Detroit skaters in ice-time with 23:59, 6:29 of that coming on the penalty kill. Darren Helm lead forwards in TOI while shorthanded with 5:38.
Helm looked really good at times. He’s looking better and better as far as his strength on the puck and puck control each night. There was one time in particular where he was dominating the zone by himself, but we’re used to that by now as fans, right?
Mike Bagpop. Really, FS-Ohio? LeKrubed. Babcock got his 300th career win. Congratulations to the coach with the craziest eyes and flyest hair in the League.
Let’s hope that the injuries sustained by Pavel Datsyuk and Brian Rafalski are minimal. Datsyuk suffered a “lower body injury” and the same is true for Rafalski but it seemed to be more specifically his knee as he went to the ice clutching his knee. We’ll keep you updated on things as they surface, but for now a lot of fingers are crossed in Red Wings Nation.
With tonight’s win and Dallas’ 5-0 defeat of the Blackhawks, the Red Wings’ Central Division lead is back to 10 points with 11 games to go for each team.
Something I forgot to mention the first time around so I went back and edited the post: MacDonald had a late game save to preserve the shutout. The puck was loose in the crease and MacDonald covered it with the glove. A Blue Jacket came in and shoved Mac’s glove towards the goal line. The play went to review (after originally being called “no goal”) and the rule was upheld. In all likelihood the puck was over the line but without distinct visual proof, it couldn’t be overturned. Also, the rule about pushing the goalie into the net might apply too.