The Wings extended their win streak to four last night, beating the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 at home. It was a business-like win, with not too much fancy play, though the Wings largely controlled play for two periods, posting 39 shots while holding the Habs to 23. It was the first time the teams had met since October 2003 and the first time the Habs had been in town since the previous October.
Dominik Hasek started for the Wings and looked solid. He had a couple points where the Canadiens had him scrambling around and things got a little tense, but he either made the save or they blew their chances. Overall, he was very steady and made all the necessary saves. Toward the end of the game, as time was becoming an issue for the Habs, he kept play going by going out of his way not to freeze the puck, which one of the little things he does that doesn’t get noticed. It was his 74th career shutout, which is 10th all-time. He is second in the league this season with six (Martin Brodeur has seven).
The Canadians had a few stretches in which they really controlled play. One such stretch was the first minute or so of the game, as they cycled the puck around the Detroit end. They did it on a power play or two as well, but not as consistently as I’d have expected of the #2 power play team in the league. The Wings were able to kill off five power plays, including one 26-second 5-on-3 and didn’t seem to have much trouble doing so. Of course, the Canadiens killed off the two Wings power plays, so it was a bit of an even trade.
Jiri Hudler scored the first goal for the Wings. It came as a bit of a surprise on a quick rush beginning at the Detroit blueline. He skated down the left wing boards and took a shot from just inside the left circle, with a clear shooting lane. David Aebischer dropped and reacted, but the puck beat him to the upper right corner of the net. It was a great shot and put the Wings ahead 1-0 at 9:18 of the first.
The teams pretty much traded control from then on, through the second period, which was a lot less offensively-oriented than the other two. The Canadiens had three powerplays in the second, the last of which was due to a crap call if I ever saw one. Kris Draper was called for high sticking Michael Ryder near the Montreal net. Draper had his stick in Ryder’s mid-section and could have been called for hooking, but Ryder decided the referee needed a little help. So, he threw his head back as he let himself fall, holding his face in his hand, tricking the referee into thinking Draper had caught him in his face with his stick. A disgusting display, but Ryder got off without a diving penalty. Fortunately, the Wings killed it off. I’m sure I’ll get accused of homerism after my reaction to the play, but unless I missed something, it was a blatant dive and not something that belongs in the game.
To start the third period, the Wings controlled the play. For about a minute. Then, the Habs took over for a minute and a half or so. After a fairly lethargic second period, the sudden urgency and intensity was a welcome change. The Wings’ best line was, of course, Pavel Datsyuk with Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom. With the Eurotwins causing Montreal puck carriers and defenders fits as they expertly stole and cycled the puck, Holmstrom got a number of great scoring chances, though Aebischer was too strong.
One thing I noticed in this period was how loud the crowd seemed to be. Of course, it could have just been the Versus mics, which may pick up more arena noise than FSN’s, but it sounded like the usually-quiet Joe crowd was into the game. It was a close one and an Original Six matchup and I didn’t notice a ton of empty seats.
As the period wore on, the Wings began to play pretty conservatively, taking their time leaving the zone and only doing so when they were sure they would get out. The Habs, surprisingly enough, let them do it rather than making a concerted effort at a comeback. It would come later, but by then it was too late.
Pavel Datsyuk extended the Wings’ lead to two goals at the 14:41 mark of the period after a nice play at center with Henrik Zetterberg. Hank carried the puck over over the blueline and then dropped it to Pavel, who skated down the right boards as Francis Bouillon covered him. He stickhandled briefly before releasing a shot from the outside edge of the circle. The puck may have hit Bouillon on its way to the far post and in, but I think it was just a great shot by Datsyuk.
With that out of the way, the Wings settled into a defensive posture and waited for Montreal to come at them. The Habs did, but they were a bit sloppy and didn’t get as much pressure as they’d have liked. They did come close to score around the 17:30 mark, but Hasek was strong and the puck stayed out. They pulled Aebsicher briefly around the 19:00 mark, but a neutral zone faceoff forced him back. He left again with about 20 seconds left, but it was far too late by then. 2-0 Wings, final.
A good win for the Wings, who improved to 4-1-1 against the East thus far this season. They have four non-conference games remaining, with a visit to Long Island coming later this month, trips to New York and Philadelphia coming in February, and the Bruins coming to town in March. On Wednesday, they’ll have a chance to edge closer to the Central Division lead as they host the Nashville Predators, who are currently ahead of them by four points.
Also, you may have noticed that there is now a “Sponsors” section in the sidebar. That’s because I’m a poor college student that is now paying for hosting and as much as I’d like to keep the site ad-free, it’s a necessary evil. Believe me, I’ll try not to let it get out of control because I hate an ad-plastered site as much as anyone else. If you’re interested in purchasing ad space, shoot me an email.
I’m pretty sure that was Andrei Markov, not Michael Ryder, who faked the high stick. While a hooking call would have been completely justifiable, it was BS that Markov got away with such a blatant dive. (And Markov is a known diver.) Couple that with the fact that Markov had moments ago gotten away with a penalty of his own, and you have to wonder what the refs were thinking during those 20 seconds or so.
Justin, I didn’t catch the number of the player at the time, but I checked ESPN this morning and their boxscore says it was Ryder.
Either way, it’s a shock to me that the refs didn’t see it as a dive. With that and the Markov penalty non-call you cite, they must have had momentary blindness.
I came here by accident, but just might stay