Hi! I hope you all had Happy Holidays, and ate a lot of food and drank a lot of good drinks. Hockey is back, and that is good as hell. Tonight, we’re taking a stroll over to the capital of Canada to play a game of puck. Detroit waltzes into the game coming off a big win against the (really bad) Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa comes in on a two game losing streak.
To our surprise, Jakub Kindl is in. Which, of course, is to the contrary of what the diggers had reported earlier today. Shocking, I know.. But hey, shit happens. What needs to happen tonight? Detroit needs to win. They’re at a pivotal part of their season, and they need to use the momentum from the game against the Sabres as a reminder that yeah, they can still do the scoring things.
1st Period:
It was definitely the first period after a holiday break. Both teams came out a bit soft on the puck, not many chances. The first goal came from Mike Hoffman. On a goal that looked like Jonathan Ericsson shot it into his own net, I put the blame more on Jimmy Howard for letting up a bad rebound and expecting a block. Don’t get me wrong, I still think Jonathan Ericsson is bad, and I would like to blame him more than I would Howard. After that goal, it seemed like Detroit stopped biting offensively. Ottawa took over possession of the puck, and gave the Red Wings very few chances to make something happen. In the closing moments of the period, Henrik Zetterberg made a great play off the back-boards to set up Justin Abdelkader to score a very “meat and potatoes” goal to knot it up at one. That’s Abby’s 8th goal of the season, and he’s on pace to shatter his career high in season goals and points. Shot count at the end of 20 minutes checks in at 10-6, in favor of the Sens.
2nd Period:
After scoring a goal in the closing moments of the first period, Detroit came out again without much bite to their game. Gustav Nyquist did set up a really nice chance to Tomas Tatar, but Craig Anderson came up with a big save to keep it knotted up. At 13:16, Ottawa notched the go-ahead goal by Clarke MacArthur, which came unassisted. Is it just me or is Jonathan Ericsson so fucking god awful? Let’s be real, he’s never been that good. Certainly not worth what his contract says he is. I have a feeling we’re going to be hating those terms over the next four years. Period ends with the Sens up 2-1, and the shots in favor of Ottawa, 25-13. Detroit looks like the exact opposite of what they have strived to be.. And that is a superior shot-suppression squad.
3rd Period:
Listen, this period was great, because Henrik Zetterberg scored a power-play goal and tied the game. After that, both teams played pretty safe hockey. We go on to overtime…
Overtime:
Gustav. Mother. Fucking. Nyquist. That is all. The kid had the puck on his stick for 20 seconds, cycling through the zone, one-handed, two-handed, looking, not-looking.. I don’t know how he did it.. But he did it. He fucking did it.
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YO. Detroit WINS!!
In a game where Detroit was out-played for the majority of the skirmish, we come out on top at the hands of our lord and savior, Gustav Nyquist. I really wish I could put this into words for you, but I can’t. It was sickening, and I am not quite sure what to do. Probably have a beer for twelve. That’s how you do it, gang. LET’S GO!!
ICYMI: Jimmy Howard was spectacular, in a game where his team was greatly out-played.
LGRW!
More Points, More Fun
