The Wings finally halted their skid last night, beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 last night in Denver and winning in a shootout for the first time this season (1-3). It was one of the most exciting offensive performances of the year by the Wings, who peppered sophomore goalie Peter Budaj with 43 shots through three periods and overtime. Budaj was forced to make a number of spectacular saves as Detroit’s creative juices were flowing in overdrive last night, rendering the Colorado defense helpless spectators more often than not as the Wings put on passing clinics.
The team defense was strong overall, with the exception of three plays, each of which led, unfortunately, directly to a goal. Given the nature of those plays, it is probably unfair to hold the result against the goalie asked to come up big, but when that goalie is Dominik Hasek, it doesn’t seem too far out of line to expect more. Hasek was just average last night, not spectacular, making largely routine saves on 22 of the Avs’ 25 shots. Three shots got by him on fast breaks and rendered the Wings’ hard offensive work moot, as they lost two leads and had to come from behind in the end. That’s not to say the defense gets a free pass on the plays. Dom did come through in the shootout, though, and that counts for a lot.
Overall, in my opinion, it was one of the team’s best performances all season. They didn’t quite get the goaltending they pay for, but they were excellant on offense. They skated harder than they have been, making for beautiful replays even when a goal isn’t scored. They hit harder than the Avs and laid out a couple bone-crushers throughout the night. I got the impression that they would not be denied.
Althought the Wings began the game exhibiting good puck movement, the Avs were able to generate some solid pressure in the Detroit end for a good minute and a half until 4:00 or so. The Wings weathered that storm, however, and were soon getting chances of their own. Around 5:20, Pavel Datsyuk took the puck down the left wing and then dished it ahead to Henrik Zetterberg for a 2-on-1 down low. Hank slid the puck across the goalmouth to Tomas Holmstrom, who one-timed it toward the upper left corner, but it was knocked away with an acrobatic stick save by Budaj.
A shift or two later, a Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, and Jason Williams line generated a lot of pressure in the Colorado end. Hudler drew a hooking penalty at 6:29 and sent the Wings to their first power play of the game.
It didn’t take long for them to capitalize. On their second attempt at setting up, they scored almost immediately to take a one-goal lead. Datstyuk carried the puck over the line and dished it to Zetterberg, who dropped it back to Niklas Kronwall on the right point. Kronwall sent it across to Nick Lidstrom, who sent a wrister at the side of the net, where it was deflected to the backboards. Datsyuk picked it up behind the net, took a step or two our front and backhanded it across the crease to Zetterberg, who went down on one knee to slam it into the net on a one-timer. Budaj had no chance. 1-0 Wings at 7:20.
At 9:22, Kronwall took a hooking penalty and put the Avs on their own first power play. Colorado set up and had a couple good chances after the puck imitated a pinball around the zone. It was cleared, but brought back in quickly. Joe Sakic, who looked great last night, went after the puck in the corner only to be knocked down by Andreas Lilja, who made it look easy. The Avs continued with strong pressure and it resulted in another Red Wings penalty that didn’t come into effect until there were only 17 seconds left on the original. The Avs set up with a 5-on-3, but an unnecessary pass through coverage resulted in Zetterberg intercepting the puck and sending it the length of the ice.
Now back on a regular power play, Brett Clark passed the puck to Wojtek Wolksi, took it on an impressive personal rush down the right wing. Through center, over the blueline, into the Wings’ end, a cut in the right circle across to the slot, a quick low shot and a goal while Johan Franzen and Nick Lidstrom ineffectively applied their sticks instead of the body. Great individual effort by Wolski, but it should have ended as a spectacular rush, not with a game-tying goal. Not a great one for the Wings’ penalty killing skaters to give up, but Hasek should have had it. 1-1 at 11:59.
The Avs couldn’t stay out of the box, however, and the Wings went back on the power play at 12:30. Their first set up resulted in a blocked Lidstrom shot and a clear. Their second lasted a lot longer, with a ton of passing and creative setup attempts. Unfortunately, none of them worked and the puck was cleared again. The third set up had a new unit, one that included Jason Williams on the point. I was not impressed. They got maybe a shot off before Budaj froze it and a couple chances following a face-off win. Still, it was killed off.
Later in the period, Zetterberg nearly hooked up with Datsyuk on a rush in the Colorado end. The pass was intercepted by the Avs defenseman but it still resulted in a good scoring chance for the Wings as he inadvertantly deflected it on net. Budaj had to be sharp to make the save.
The period wound down with little worth mentioning.
The second period had a choppy start, with a couple early whistles disrupting the flow: the first was a Detroit icing and the second was a Detroit penalty. It was a Johan Franzen “boarding call?” (to quote the clueless Versus color man – he wasn’t sure about much of anything) and put the Avs on the power play once again. They had a couple big chances, not least their hitting of the post on their first set up. Their second set up resulted in a flurry around the net involving Milan Hejduk and Joe Sakic, but the puck was cleared and the penalty was killed off.
Brett Lebda collided with (I believe) Jiri Hudler in the first five minutes of the period and and it hurt his arm, but he was forced to stay out as the Avs applied pressure in the Red Wings end. The Wings finally cleared it only to have Datsyuk give it away at center. The Avs took it the other way and ended up sending it high over the net.
Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom and Zetterberg had a great shift around the 7:10 mark. The Avs finally cleared it and took it on a slow rush, but Lidstrom chipped it away from the puck carrier and Datsyuk picked it up along the left side at center.
He took it in down the wing with one Colorado defenseman, Karlis Skrastins, covering him and Chris Chelios skating down the other side. He and Skrastins coverged but Pavel deked around him, dragging his toe and the puck as the Avs defenseman fell. Mark Rycroft got back at this point and got his stick on Datsyuk, causing him to fall. He didn’t lose concentration, however, and got the shot off in the air, beating Budaj to his right as he fell going the other way. A spectacular goal and one that should be on the highlight reels, for sure. 2-1 Wings at 7:35.
Brett Lebda was okay after hurting his arm, as he had a good scoring chance immediatley following Pavel’s goal.
Jason Williams had some sort of cut on his face around the 9:20 mark. Not sure what caused it, but if it was a stick, it’s not to the refs’ credit that they missed it.
Colorado did take a penalty at 10:28. The Wings got set up twice, with the first resulting in a Zetterberg shot that left the rink and the second resulting in a Lidstrom blast that was stopped with Holmstrom standing post out front. The Avs then had a 2-on-1 chance shorthanded immediately following a faceoff. Ben Guite sent the puck off the boards and got a lucky bounce back off his stick that allowed him to loft it up and over Lebda as he stepped around him.
Guite streaked down the right wing with it as Chris Chelios was back to cover and Brett McLean was flying wingman. He barely faked a pass before snapping a shot off the wrong foot, beating Hasek 5-hole. It was his first NHL goal and, like the Versus announcers were saying, something he’ll be able to tell his grandchildren: he scored it on Dominik Hasek. 5-hole goals like that are unforgivable, even if it was a 2-on-1 break. Lebda looked a little foolish at the line, but it was a bit of a freak bounce and a great show of hand-eye coordination that beat him. 2-2 at 12:03.
The rest of the penaltly was killed off.
The Wings came close to taking the lead again when Nick Lidstrom hit the post at 14:45. Not long after that, Andreas Lilja had a big blast from the point but the rebound was knocked down with a high stick and touched by the Wings. At the other end, Lilja took a holding penalty that was complete BS as he was hardly touching Hejduk, let alone holding him. Whatever. That’s the New NHL. The Wings put on a good penalty kill, though, pressuring the Avs puck handlers at both ends and holding the puck themselves as much as possible. A textbook kill.
The most unusual line of a night of new lines, a Samuelsson-Lang-Filppula creation, had a good cycle shift around the 18:00 mark. The Wings continued to pressure late in the period and were rewarded with a power play beginning at 19:49. It carried over to the 3rd.
The Wings began the third period on the power play but it didn’t result in anything. The Avs would score within two minutes after their penaly expired.
Following a Red Wings in-and-out rush (Williams’ right wing blast missed the net by a mile, careened off the glass and back to the blueline on the left wing), the Avs caught Detroit flat footed at center. Milan Hejduk took the puck down the right wing into the Wings’ zone on a 2-on-1 with Andrew Brunette, Kronwall covering and Jiri Hudler skating hard to catch up. Hejduk may have telegraphed pass slightly, but he shifted and ripped a shot that beat a diving Hasek far side.
Another iffy goal allowed by Hasek, who looked panicky on the play rather than confident. Kronwall played it well, giving Hasek the shooter and taking away the pass, but Dom didn’t uphold his end of the deal. Hejduk is a goalscorer and no slouch, but you’d still like to see Hasek make that save. 3-2 Avs at 3:47.
Fortunately for the Wings, the Avs couldn’t stay out of the penalty box long enough to enjoy a lead. Brunette went for tripping at 5:06 and the Wings scorerd a mere six seconds later to tie it 3-3. Robert Lang won the offensive zone faceoff on in the right circle and headed to the other side of the zone. Kronwall took the puck at the point and then sent it up to Mikael Samuelsson, who took a couple steps up before sending it through an enormous gap in the slot to a waiting Lang. Lang one-timed it past Budaj for an easy goal. 3-3 at 5:12.
The Wings turned it up after that. Filppula, Hudler, Williams, Kronwall and Lebda generated some strong pressure around the 8:00 mark, culminating in a thread-the-needle pass by Kronwall to Williams that nearly resulted in a goal. Jason tipped it just wide, however, and the puck ended up being cleared. Draper had a chance not long after that, but overstepped the puck near the net and couldn’t finish. He had another great chance soon after. Immediately following a big hit by Kirk Maltby at center on Ossi Vaananen, Draper got behind the Colorado defense after taking a pass from Malts, and ended up hitting the crossbar on his shot.
The puck ended up in the netting and the whistle was blown. Joel Quenneville called a time out to settle his team down. It may have helped, but the Wings kept coming. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk harried an Avalanche puck carrier in the Colorado end, stealing the puck and dishing it to Holmstrom, whose big shot was unfortunately stopped by Budaj at 10:36.
Kronwall destroyed Ben Guite at the Colorado blueline five seconds later as the Avs tried to leave the zone. It was one of the better hits of the season, for sure.
The Wings went back on the power play at 11:40. Holmstrom had a big chance on the second set up following a nice give-and-go by Zetterberg to Datsyuk. Pavel sent it right back to Hank, who tipped it across the goalmouth to Holmstrom on the right site. He was just a little too deep, however, and couldn’t get a full shot off. It did result in a scramble, however, but little more. After a couple more set ups and carry-ins, the penalty was killed off.
The Wings took a dumb penalty at 16:22 when Samuelsson let his stick go out of control and hack Tyler Arnasson at center. The Avs got set up and had a flurry around the net, but the Wings were too aggressive on the PK for them to get anything real going. Guite and Lidstrom were called for diving and hooking, respectively, at 18:10, but it didn’t change that numbers on the ice. The Samuelsson penalty was killed off.
Datsyuk had a big chance at about the 18:50 mark at the end of another give-and-go between him and Zetterberg. Kronwall followed up on the play, but Budaj was steadfast, maintaining the tie.
One of the last lines of the regulation was a Datsyuk, Filppula, Zetterberg combination. I have to say I like that one.
Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Chelios and Kronwall began overtime for the Wings, but didn’t do a ton their first time out. The Wings’ second unit generated some good pressure, but it ended when Lang sent the puck directly into the crest of a fallen Colorado defenseman.
Zetterberg had a big chance on a pass from Datsyuk around the 2:10 mark and it was followed by a good pressure shift by those two with Kronwall and Lebda. Dan Cleary forced Budaj to make a big save not long after that. At this point, the Versus color commentator, as lost and out of it as ever, said something like “for the last couple minutes of the third period (my emphasis), the best player on the ice for the Avs has been Budaj.” He’s right about Budaj, who was stellar.
Despite the fact that it was late in the game, the Wings were so jacked up and skating so fast that they had an offside while skating at top speed. They turned the puck over in their own end once, but recovered nicely and Nick Lidstrom sent a long bomb pass up the middle to a streaking Datsyuk. Pavel missed the pass and couldn’t catch up with it, but he’d have had a clean breakaway had it connected.
In the end, the Joe Sakic had the game on his stick, but Hasek made the stop and overtime ended.
The Avs chose to go first in the shootout the shootout, with Wolksi as the first shooter. He skated in one Hasek, deked backhand to forehand and was stoned on the goalline by Dom’s right pad.
Williams was the first shooter for the Wings, and he tried a similar strategy. His backhand-to-forehand deke didn’t faze Budaj, who stopped him with his left pad.
Hejduk was next up for the Avs and he tried to snipe it. Dom made a glove save, however, so the attempt failed.
Datsyuk then went for the Wings and put them on the board. He skated in slowly and took his sweet time before deking backhand to forehand and beating Budaj high on the left side.
Joe Sakic went next for Colorado and tried a forehand-to-backhand deke that caused Hasek to fall on his stomach, making it easy for the Avs captain to loft it into the net.
Henrik Zetterberg was the next shooter for the Wings and had the opportunity to put the game away. He tried the “Forsberg Special” (about the only smart thing the Versus announcer said all night – even though Ken Nilsson invented it, apparently), a forehand head fake to Budaj’s right followed by a long-reaching shovelling of the puck around the goalie. It’s one of those moves where either the shooter or the goalie is going to look like a complete fool. It was Budaj this time, and he was helplessly out of position as the puck slowly slid over the line. 4-3 Wings final.
I haven’t found any replays of the shootout goals except at Versus.com, on their front page.
… It was the Wings’ seventh win in a row over Colorado and Hasek’s sixth. … According to the Versus broadcast, Dominik Hasek refused to be pulled during the Sharks’ 9-4 drubbing of the Wings last Thursday. Apparently, Babcock wanted to pull him after five, but Dom wouldn’t let him until the 8th had been scored. … I liked this comment by the Versus announcer: the All Star Game is the “supernova of superstars.” Really? I hope not, because that’d mean they’re going to explode. … By the way, Nick Lidstrom is the team’s only All Star starter. …… Versus interviewed Steve Yzerman during the third period and he said he can see the Wings and Avs rekindling their rivalry, though he said it’d be much more likely to happen were they to meet in the playoffs. … Boxscore … Play-by-Play … Shift Chart … A2Y …
Anyway, a great game for the Wings. They looked as good offensively as they have all season and definitely came through against their old rivals. Hopefully they can bring the same intensity to their game against Phoenix on Thursday night. The Coyotes are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, having won eight of their last nine. The puck drops around 9:00 PM ET tomorrow.