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Wings/Stars play a game as ugly as Dallas’ uniforms, Stars win the shootout

Posted on by J.J. FromKansas

The Wings are on the road in Dallas for the first of four straight games against the Stars thanks to their early-season difficulties with playing scheduled games. For Detroit, this is an opportunity to continue building towards next year. For the Stars, this stretch is going to go a long way to deciding whether they’re in the lottery or the playoffs.

Vrana out at the last minute with a “non-COVID related illness” according to the team.  With this, Evgeny Svechnikov comes back in, Frans Nielsen sits for Alex Biega, and Detroit is back to the 11/7 setup.

First Period

The Stars find a seam within the first two minutes and hit the post over Greiss’ shoulder on a  Faksa shot. The Wings get their first shot on net nearly five minutes in on an unscreened top-of-the-circle shot from Dennis Cholowski that Larkin sets up. Roope Hintz has a wraparound attempt poked off his stick by Filip Hronek. Other than that, not really much going on between the team in red and the camouflaged green lines into the first break.

The Wings do a good job controlling the play through the middle ten of the period, but Darren Helm gives Dallas the game’s first power play by backhanding a puck directly over the glass from in his own zone. Not enough pressure to warrant this mistake.  Roope Hintz makes them pay with a stick-side snipe from the left side of the slot. 1-0 Stars.

Gross indeed.

That’s all to report from the first.

The Score: 1-0 Stars
The Shots: 8-7 Stars
Standout Players: Larkin, Filppula
Sit-in Players: Cholowski, Helm
The Period All Summed up: Not much to see.

Second Period

The teams spend the first five minutes staying within their systems. Dallas tries fancy plays to get to the front and Detroit tries simple plays to get to the corner. Not much dangerous gong on until the Wings take a penalty thanks to a high stick from Evgeny Svechnikov.

The Wings’ PK keeps Dallas to the outside through the two minutes, then gain possession for Svechnikov to come out of the box and carry to the dot for a shot that Khudobin kicks to the middle of the ice where Luke Glendening crashes in to backhand it (naturally) into the open net to make it a 1-1 tie.

Both teams pick up the pace coming out of this goal. They make it to the TV timeout, but Dallas retakes the lead with a forechecking effort leading to a turnover that Hintz puts on net and Jason Robertson puts in on the rebound. 2-1 Dallas.

The first even-up call comes a few minutes later as Robertson goes for hooking Glendening at the Stars’ blue line.  Detroit’s power play looks like it did against Chicago on Saturday.

After Robertson gets back on, the teams trade chances and Detroit pulls even again after some good forechecking work by Darren Helm and Richard Panik. They get the puck back to Biega at the point for a rushed half-slapper that deflects off a Stars player and is then tipped past Khudobin by Luke Glendening for his 2nd of the night. 2-2 tie.

Dallas pours the pressure on in the last 30 seconds, but Greiss holds firm.

The Score: 2-2
The Shots: 20-11 Stars
Standout Players: Rasmussen, Glendening, Greiss
Sit-in Players: Lindstrom
The Period All Summed up: I had a bunch of people listed as sit-in before they redeemed themselves, including Biega and Helm.

Third Period

Dallas starts the third with jump, taking the first fur shots of the period in the opening minute. Detroit settles, but doesn’t even get a shot attempt until after three minutes are gone. This shot attempt actually goes in, but doesn’t count because Vlad Namestnikov ran into Dallas’ goalie, which I’m told is not allowed.

Adam Erne quickly puts the actual first shot on goal on the ensuing faceoff. Later, Helm the second. Now I’m done actually listing every Red Wings shot this period in hopes that there will actually be too many to list.

Around the sixth minute, Dennis Gurianov tries his damndest at both ends to break the tie, first turning it over for a Wings’ chance and then twice receiving passes in the slot for a quick shot that has to be stopped.

Ten minutes in and this game is mostly people being impolite to one another along the boards.

As the period drags on, Dallas is pushing the pace more and Detroit is having trouble receiving passes to transition and counterattack. They do get a good minute of zone time but no dangerous chances as the clock ticks down from five to four left in regulation.

From this, Detroit does do better at controlling things and the play returns to just a lot of mucking.

The Score: 2-2
The Shots: 32-19 Stars
Standout Players: Greiss, Cholowski, Hronek
Sit-in Players: Namestnikov
The Period All Summed up: Reverse retro old Western Conference hockey kind of period.

Overtime

Dallas starts with the puck against Erne-Namestnikov-Hronek. Hronek gets a chance followed by a missed chance to finish a 2-on-1 by Hintz. After a whistle, Larkin-Zadina-Cholowski create a good one-timer chance that Zadina blows high and wide (remember Mikael Samuelsson?).  After a bunch of Stars cycling without creating a chance, Richard Panik comes on for a chance.

DeKeyser hands the puck to Lindell for a chance that Greiss catches; Larkin rushes up ice but gets no support. Secret weapon Adam Erne gets held off and a Dickinson chance just before the buzzer gets us to a shootout.

Shootout

Robertson – Five-hole goal. 1-0

Larkin – Backhand five-hole. 1-1

Pavelski – Waits too long. Oops.

Gagner – Deke deke glove.

Hintz – Tries to five. No.

Erne – Off the stick side. High & wide.

Heiskanen – Lost the puck on the backhand.

Svechnikov – Deked him down but Khudobin got his leg out.

Gurianov – Catches Greiss going for a poke check. 2-1

Hronek – Deke deke no

Wings Lose

Wrapping Up

With the shootout loss, Detroit earned a point and officially tied Columbus in the standings, owning the tiebreaker thanks to having more real wins than the Jackets.

Back at it tomorrow night.

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