Detroit comes in tonight with a three game losing streak that they desperately need to snap. With a TBL loss, and a win, Detroit will lead the Atlantic Division, and control their own fate. We’re seeing the return of Danny DeKeyser and Justin Abdelkader tonight. Abdelkader has acted as the ‘glue-man’ for the top-six this season, so it’s a big addition. It only took Detroit about 10 weeks to put together their best defensive pairings. Brian Lashoff and Jakub Kindl are sitting, while Xavier Ouellet is serving on the third pair with Brendan Smith. It’s about god damned time. LGRW
1st Period:
A largely uneventful period, in all honesty. Detroit had a couple of nice chances to score, but it looked like the puck was just moving a bit too quickly, or too slowly for them. I think the most entertaining part was watching Kyle Quincey fall down. What the hell was that? Period ends with Detroit having a slight edge in shots, 7-6. Score at 0-0.
2nd Period:
This period was a bit more fun compared to the last. Justin Abdelkader had a huge chance all alone on a feed from Henrik Zetterberg, but Sergei Bobrovsky made a massive save to keep the game tied. The story of the period here was that both goalies made big saves to keep it together. JJ said it best: “If the Red Wings were more like the Jackets in the home plate area, they’d be ahead. If the Jackets were more like the Wings through the middle of the ice, they’d be ahead.” In other news, Brandon Dubinsky is a piece of shit, and NHL officiating is an absolute joke:
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p>Zero call, cross-check to the back. Brandon Dubinsky is a fiery sack of ostrich crap. <a href=”http://t.co/mr1PoksMSf”>pic.twitter.com/mr1PoksMSf</a></p>— merry christmas kyle (@KyleWIIM) <a href=”https://twitter.com/KyleWIIM/status/545035048093642754″>December 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Period ended with the score knotted at 0-0, shots 21-18 in favor of Detroit. Red Wings haven’t scored an even strength goal in over three games worth of hockey. Unreal.
3rd Period:
Absolute ridiculous officiating. Period. I don’t know if I have seen this many “missed” calls this season. Anyways, it ended at 0-0, and that’s because both goaltenders performed out of their socks tonight. Jimmy Howard made multiple huge saves, and so did Bob. I need some Pepto. Columbus out-chanced Detroit 8-3 in the 3rd.
Overtime:
At the end of 5 minutes, Detroit and Columbus end at 0-0. Both goalies with 65 minute shutouts.
Shootout:
Well, what did you expect?
What can I say, folks? The team has gone 205+ minutes without an even strength goal. Your shooters go limp in a shootout. Jimmy Howard stands on his head to give you a fighting chance, and this is what you give him. If you want to blame him for this loss, then go ahead. I’ll be over here.
I don’t know what’s wrong.. But fix it. Four losses in a row. Four.
Good night, and as always…
LGRW
