Lang Line Powers Wings to Victory
The forward line comprised of Dan Cleary, Robert Lang and Jason Williams was at it again, leading the Wings offensive attack for the second straight game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dan Cleary scored the first two goals by redirecting shots from the point, Jason Williams scored a breakaway goal, and Robert Lang assisted on the game winning goal, helping the Wings score a 5-0 win over the Blue Jackets. Cleary was recognized as the second star of the game. Lang said that allowing the line to develop some familiarity has resulted in the chemistry that has the line on fire of late:
George Sipple, Detroit Free Press
“It’s been finally going in for our line a little bit,” Lang said. “Coach left us alone for some games. You get used to each other a little bit more. I think it just gets better as the year goes on. It’s like everything: If you let the guys get used to each other, it pays off.”
Detroit was also excellent on special teams, scoring 2 power play goals in 6 tries and killing off all six Columbus power plays. Dan Cleary and Nicklas Lidstrom scored the power play goals for Detroit. Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk all registered helpers (assists) on the power play. Lids was awarded the first star of the game. The power play looked dangerous all night, with great movement amongst the forwards down low as well as the point players. The Wings still make the occasional lazy pass back to the point that can result in an odd man rush, but overall the power play has shown improvement over the past 10 or so games.
Kirk Maltby also made a nice defensive play to force a turnover deep in the Blue Jacket end of the ice. After stealing the puck he lifted a shot past Fredrik Norrena, beating him gloveside to stake Detroit to a 3-0 lead. Kris Draper also had a solid game, going +2 and helping kill penalties to Nick Lidstrom, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Holmstrom and Valtteri Filppula. Filppula didn’t actually commit the tripping penalty but it was a good call. Draper was on the ice for Kirk Maltby’s and Jason Williams’ goals.
There has been talk over the past two games that Chris Osgood could get a start in one of the games against Columbus. That didn’t happen, probably due to Hasek lobbying to get a chance to redeem himself after his poor start in Monday’s game. That was the gist of Ted Kulfan’s article over at the Detroit News.
…Hasek came to Joe Louis Arena [on Tuesday] and took to the ice with forward Matt Ellis.
“If you give up three goals on nine shots, you don’t feel very good about yourself,” said Hasek, who called Ellis, who shot on Hasek for about 30 minutes. “I just felt I needed it,” said Hasek of getting on the ice Tuesday, while everyone else enjoyed returning home from a five-day trip. “I needed a practice. I felt better today.”
Dominik Hasek earned his 5th shutout of the season, which leads the league. As a result he was the second star of the night over at NHL.com.
Dan Cleary Dominik Hasek Jason Williams Kirk Maltby Kris Draper Nicklas Lidstrom Red Wings Robert Lang1 Comment(s)
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[…] … Adam Foote did play last night, after all. … Apparently, Mikael Samuelsson is out until after Christmas, which means Matt Ellis will get at least two more games in the Winged Wheel. Ellis, by the way, played 5:17 last night, an increase of only 12 seconds from Monday’s game. He continues to impress by not sticking out in a bad way. One more thing about Ellis: on Tuesday, he and Dominik Hasek were the only two Wings that practiced. Apparently, Dom called him in the morning and asked if he’d be interested in taking some shots. Given the result of last night’s game, I guess it was all the practice Hasek needed. … Mathieu Schneider has an 11-game point steak going. He has two goals and twelve assists in that span. … Blogger reactions: Gorilla Crouch, No Pun Intended, Army of the Ohio, The Jacket Times. … […]