Gorilla Crouch

Matt Ellis continued his 4-game point streak by scoring the opening goal and the ZDH line [also known as the Flying Circus line] potted two goals to help the Wings ease past Vancouver 3-2. Tomas Holmstrom proved the officials could hold him down for only so long by potting two goals. Number 96’s first came off a shot from the point by Brian Rafalski. The puck hit Homer before beating Roberto Luongo to put the Wings up 2-0.

Niklas Kronvall demonstrates to Ryan Kesler that his sacrum is just fine
AP Photo: Paul Sancya

After Matt Cooke’s shot from the point deflected off Kris Draper and beat Dominik Hasek to draw the Canucks to within one goal Homer was the beneficiary of some solid play by his linemates. Pavel Datsyuk forced a turnover in the offensive zone and the puck fluttered directly to Henrik Zetterberg. Vancouver scrambled to cover the leading point scorer in the NHL and left Homer all alone on the doorstep. Z found him for an easy tap-in that would provide the Red Wings with the margin of victory.

The lines were pretty standard, although it seemed like Kopecky was getting some shifts with the second line. Here are the lines I noticed during the game.

Cleary - Draper - Maltby [opening faceoff as is often the case]
Kopy-Fil-Sammy
Hudler-Fil-Sammy
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Downey-Ellis-Kopecky

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronvall-Lilja
Chelios-Lebda

Matt Ellis scored first at the 17:34 mark of the opening period. Both he and Tomas Kopecky went to the front of the net while Mikael Samuelsson put a shot on net. Ellis followed the puck and spun to guide the puck into the net for his second goal of the season and fourth straight game with a point. Kopecky playing in front of the net would be a common occurence in this game. Early in the second period Valtteri Filppula carried the puck into the Vancouver zone and held the puck, waiting for something to develop. He found Lebda who cut towards the net. Lebda’s shot didn’t find the back of the net and Kopy knocked the net off as he crashed towards the net.

No goalie interference here
AP Photo: Paul Sancya

Shortly after that play the Wings would get their first power play, when Rafalski’s shot was re-directed into the goal by Holmstrom. After Cooke drew the Nucks to within 1 goal Vancouver seemed to be energized and carried play for the next five minutes as they tried to score the equalizer. Late in the second period Homer notched his second goal off the pass from Zetterberg and the Wings were able to re-establish their two-goal lead. Kopecky drew a penalty with a little over 2 minutes left in the second period and the Wings had at least one excellent chance to build a three goal lead. Henrik Zetterberg made a perfect pass to Nicklas Lidstrom who’d cut in towards the net. Lidstrom’s shot would have scored a goal in nearly any other situation but Luongo made a fantastic stop to keep Vancouver within two goals of the Wings.

That save would prove to be key after Zetterberg was callled for hooking early in the third period. The Nucks capitalized on the man advantage as Daniel Sedin lofted a chip shot over Dominik Hasek to narrow the lead to 3-2. But that’s as close as they would come tonight. Kopecky would knock the net off once more driving to the net and then had another good chance to redirect a shot. Kopy’s been solid along the boards and in his own end but he seems to be making an effort to get to the front of the net. If he keeps it up he’s going to continue to be rewarded with ice time. He played 12:40 tonight and was +1. He didn’t get an assist on Ellis’ goal but he played a big role in drawing Luongo out of the net.

Valtteri Filppula had several good scoring chances tonight and one thing I definitely noticed was he seemed more at ease with the puck. Hopefully the game is starting to slow down for him. If that’s the case then it’s obviously a good sign. Despite the close score the Wings dominated the game, outshooting Vancouver 39-15. With the win the Wings have now won three games in a row and have 15 points, which ties them with Minnesota [the Wild are currently tied with Calgary] for the best record in the Western Conference, and puts them one point behind Ottawa for the best record in the league.

Red Wings Vancouver Canucks

October 24th, 2007
Categories: Red Wings . Author: Dave

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