Detroit enters the Madhouse on Madison losing two out of their last three and sitting at the bottom of their conference and bottom 4 overall in the league.
First Period
Tomas Tatar took a hooking penalty right off the bat sending Chicago to the power play. They did a good job of keeping the puck in the Blackhawks’ zone and minimizing shots on goal against Mrazek. The Wings started off the period with really great pressure on the forecheck. That definitely saved them during this power play.
A terrible pinch and positioning by the Wings’ forwards gave Panarin a clean breakaway in front of Mrazek, who was able to stop it. The Wings didn’t walk away unscathed however, as Ericsson was called for a penalty on the play. Brian Campbell made the Wings pay with a shot that deflected twice before entering the net.
Less than 30 seconds later, a similar mistake led to Hartman rushing the net without any defensemen in his way. Mrazek was able to make the stop but Panik cleaned up after him and scored. Abdelkader and Sproul failed to get back quick enough missing the puck up the boards.
Soooo….it’s going to be one of those games huh?
With about 5 minutes to go, the Red Wings took yet another penalty, clearly struggling to keep pace with Chicago’s fast pace and creative passes.
The Wings managed to escape this period without surrendering more goals, but they had a hard time controlling the game.
Score: 2-0 CHI
Shots: 16-7 CHI
Second Period
Wings get off to a quick start and Athanasiou scores from a great blind pass from Vanek. AA is on torrid place and continues to impress…good thing he was a healthy scratch a few games ago.
Athanasiou goal pic.twitter.com/nsj9nuq2gk
— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 11, 2017
The Wings keep getting caught again and again slowly getting back to their own zone to back check. I don’t know how they haven’t learned their lesson yet, it’s already cost them two goals.
The Wings and Blackhawks played 4 on 4 for almost two minutes, giving the Wings a 9 second power play.
Seconds after, Tomas Tatar tied it up with a fantastic wrist shot. I have to believe that the Fathers Trip is not an easy one for him and it felt meaningful that he scored.
Tatar game-tying goal pic.twitter.com/cZPrJhZmZE
— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 11, 2017
Tatar celly pic.twitter.com/y99FMit0w7
— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 11, 2017
Riley Sheahan’s bad luck just won’t end. He had an excellent change on a 4 on 4, was right at the door but couldn’t get the puck past Crawford’s pad.
The Wings were matching the Blackhawks intensity really well throughout the period. Unfortunately they couldn’t hang on until the end. A seemingly harmless scrum around Mrazek resulted in a goal for Michigan-born Kero.
Chicago’s lead was short lived because with 19 seconds to go yet another harmless looking scrum results in a tie game! Glendening gets the goal thanks to some hard work from Drew Miller.
game tied again, 3-3 pic.twitter.com/yVEfAs2zL9
— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 11, 2017
The Red Wings finished the second period with a staggering 20 shots on a goal, giving them a total of 27.
Score: 3-3
Shots: 27-27
Third Period
The third period started off with great intensity and grit. The Red Wings had their best chance of the period to get the lead when Crawford left the crease to play a puck and left an empty net for Vanek. Somehow he managed to make the save.
The Red Wings continued to give the Blackhawks great changes by making missteps and not communicating well with each other. Late in the third they allowed a Blackhawks forward to skate right up to Mrazek because two defensemen were covering one side of the ice, leaving the other side wide open. Whatever the outcome of this game is, the coaching staff will need to address this habit because it will cost them.
Seconds away from OT, Abdelkader takes a bad penalty for a hit on Hjalmarsson…not very good timing.
Score: 3-3
Shots: 42-36 CHI
Overtime
The Wings started OT on a penalty kill, lasting only 38 seconds before Duncan Keith scores the game-winner. Wings get a point, but need more than that.
