Wings Blink, Sens score 3 goals in Win
Detroit dominated play for much of the game last night. But they couldn’t match the Senators level of play for the first 6:45 of the 2nd period. Before they knew it they were down 3-0. The first goal was due to a very bad pass from Robert Lang, whose weak pass in the offensive zone across the blueline was picked off by Jason Spezza. Spezza was off to the races with a breakaway shot on Dominik Hasek. Spezza deked Hasek before lifting the puck over him to give the Sens a 1-0 lead. Spezza would also score the game winning goal on a redirect while Ottawa was on the power play.
The Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg line was very good, as was the Robert Lang line, generating plenty of great scoring chances. However Ottawa netminder Ray Emery was able to protect the 3-goal lead his teammates gave him. Both Detroit goals came on one-timers from the faceoff circle to Emery’s left side. The Wings were obviously keyed in on his glovehand as he is nursing an injury to his left hand. However the glovehand wasn’t all that bad, as he absolutley robbed Pavel Datsyuk of a sure goal on one play. Emery was completely out of position on the opposite side of the net. The puck squirted through to the other post, where Datsyuk was in perfect position to bang the puck home to the back of the net. But Emery made a play that wouldn’t look out of place in Dominik Hasek’s highlight reel of unbelievable saves. As a result Emery was recognized the second star of the game.
Emery’s heroics kept the Wings from probably putting 5 or 6 goals on the board. The Wings had 9 scoring chances in the first period alone and at least 4 of them were excellent scoring chances. Ottawa responded and took control of the game over that first 6:45 of the second period and then the Wings came back with the same type of effort they showed during the first period. Robert Lang got the Wings on the board when he scored 25 seconds after Spezza’s second goal. Pavel Datsyuk also put a one-timer past Emery at the 17:34 mark of the second period to draw Detroit within one goal.
The Wings relentlessly drove into the Ottawa zone in the third period, with the Sens mostly on their collective heels. Ottawa mostly just dumped the puck to clear the zone and switch lines while the Wings continued to attack the offensive zone. Ultimately though, the Wings were not able to get the tying goal. This game was somewhat similar to recent playoff losses, with the Wings greatly outchancing the opponent (Detroit held a 45-22 shots on goal advantage), the opponent picking a spot to counter-attack, and having the opposing goaltender fend off any attempt to tie or win the game.
There were some positives, however. The top two lines continued to look good. The second line generated 3 points (1 goal and 2 assists), while the top line generated 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist). Detroit also went 1-3 on the power play. The Wings clearly miss Daniil Markov. Nicklas Lidstrom was -1 on the night and on Chris Neil’s goal he would have benefitted from having Markov there to defend Neil as he drove right to the front of the net. Andreas Lilja just doesn’t have it in his DNA like Markov does to be an obnoxious jerk. Since we are talking about NHL defensemen that is a good trait to have.
Andreas Lilja Chris Neil Dominik Hasek Henrik Zetterberg Jason Spezza Nicklas Lidstrom Pavel Datsyuk Ray Emery Red Wings Robert Lang1 Comment(s)
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