Can the Red Wings break the playoff drought this season? The dream is alive after Thursday night’s shootout win at Madison Square Garden. It wasn’t pretty, but thanks to some strong play from the top line and another brilliant start from Thomas Greiss, the Wings got it done and kept the dream alive ahead of a really tough stretch of competition through mid-March.
The Wings started the game great. Real great. In fact, I think that was the best start the Detroit Red Wings have had in over a year or two, maybe. The Rangers didn’t register a shot until a little before the half-way mark of the period. Troy Stecher opened the scoring, and I can’t think of a guy who deserves it more than him:
Stecher’s first of the year. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/v9t3qIz8Je
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 18, 2022
i personally loved the awkward interview during the first intermission on BSD
Detroit should really have had more than one goal after there first period, given they had almost four full minutes of PP time.
The second period was all-out fun. Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond were buzzing early, and kudos to Filip Zadina who has acted as the caboose for those two. Thomas Greiss continued to play his ass off, but the Rangers would eventually sneak one by him. K’andre Miller outworked the Wings and pulled off a wrap-around goal that just narrowly escaped a save:
Key’s feeling it. 🥵 pic.twitter.com/CZXMu421f9
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 18, 2022
The Rangers made a big comeback in the second period. They capitalized on some soft spots in Detroit’s defense, but the Wings kept with it. Dylan Larkin pulled off a big shift not long after the NYR game-tying goal. A slick one-timer goal to keep his hot streak going:
Dylan from Danny! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/LUXB25mpXx
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 18, 2022
Also: Moritz Seider picked up his 30th assist of the season on this goal.
Speaking of Moritz Seider.. He is great. He had a beauty of a moment late in the second period. Chris Kreider tried to get physical with him and ended up with the raw-end of the deal:
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 18, 2022
Kreider… Seider… huh.
The third period was a mess. You have to look at Thomas Greiss as your POTG, because he kept things together a lot in this game. Detroit was given a gift somehow after what seemed like a sure penalty. Givani Smith laid out a hit that I figured would put him in the box, but they ended up on the PP:
Givani Smith & Dryden Hunt drop the gloves after Givani hit Gauthier from behind.
Detroit somehow ends up with a power play. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/qIN1Ar0fWK
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) February 18, 2022
The makeup call didn’t take long, but Detroit really struggled to get anything going on the man advantage. Mika Zibanejad got the game-tying goal on a sweet one-time chance. Really no chance for Thomas Greiss. It was good execution from New York.
The ice was bouncy at MSG. That was on display all game long. As Dylan Larkin pointed out in the postgame, it was warm in the building.
The game eventually went to overtime, which was a wild sequence of events. It really came down to both goaltenders. Igor Shesterkin was brilliant for the Rangers, and Thomas Greiss had another great showing for the Wings. That trend went into the shootout (blah), which Greiss came out on top. Detroit got a pair of shootout tallies from Lucas Raymond and Pius Suter.
It’s a big win for the Detroit Red Wings, and they have goaltending to thank again. It didn’t need to be that way, though. If it weren’t for sheepish play on special teams, extra time wouldn’t have been necessary. No matter how you want to look at it, a win is a win. The Red Wings stay firmly in the wild card hunt, and they have a nice break. They won’t be in action again until February 23. Unfortunately for Detroit, the next run of games are all tough matchups.
Buckle up.
