Wings turn it on in 2nd, keep streaks alive
Hey Marty: the price is wrong, bitch!
Photo: Jerry S. Mendoza
Detroit didn’t so much as play bad early on as they simply didn’t match Dallas’ effort for the first 35 or so minutes of the game. As a result the Stars were well on their way to a victory as they built up a 3-1 lead when Brendan Morrow scored a power play goal at the 13:42 mark of the second period.
But Pavel Datsyuk kick-started the Red Wings by scoring back to back goals to tie the game. The team responded by playing gritty hockey and clawed their way to a hard-fought 5-3 win. As a result the following streaks remained intact:
-Detroit has won 5 straight games and has pushed their lead atop the NHL to 10 points.
-The Red Wings have extended their streak of playoff appearances to 17 straight seasons, the best in professional sports.
-The Wings have garnered 100 or more points in 8 straight seasons, which ties an NHL record previously held solely by the Montreal Canadiens.
-The team has also finished atop the Central Division for the 7th straight season.
Darren Helm replaced Kris Draper who’s out with a minor groin injury. Here were the lines Detroit largely used tonight:
Filppula-Datsyuk-Hudler
Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hartigan-Drake-Matlby
Helm-Kopecky-Downey
Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Chelios-Lebda
The third line had another rough night as both Dallas Drake and Kirk Maltby were -2. At one point Mike Babcock threw out a line of Darren Helm - Tomas Kopecky - Kirk Maltby and they looked pretty decent. Chris Chelios seemed to struggle a bit coming back from a chipped fibula injury. However the top line once again looked like the best line on the ice - for the third straight game - and their pivot played a huge role in the win. Another great sign is that Valtteri Filppula is starting to grow into a legitimate scoring-line forward right in front of our eyes.
He’s begun going to the net rather than demurely curling back and playing it safe along the boards. He made a move towards the slot that drew a penalty that led to Johan Franzen’s redirect of Nick Lidstrom’s shot that resulted in Detroit’s first goal. Franzen has 6 goals in the past 5 games. Filppula also assisted on both of Pavel Datsyuk’s markers. His development - like Franzen’s - is a great sign for the organization.
My only criticism would be that the team seems slow to recognize when the opponent is stacking the blue line when Detroit has the man advantage. They try to skate the puck into the zone and it often results in a turnover. The Wings could have been reluctant to dump the puck since Marty Turco is good at handling the puck but when Detroit did dump it they seemed to have some success.
Speaking of Turco, he’s got to see Pavel Datsyuk in his nightmares. The center - who currently ranks 4th in the NHL in points - could have a number of posters that feature Marty Turco just looking utterly ridiculous. And by ridiculous I mean Dan Cloutier ridiculous. Barry “the Mullet” Melrose once had a nice backhanded compliment for Datsyuk when he commented on a Datsyukian deke that “that’s just not right - that Marty Turco’s not chopped liver.” Well if Turco’s not chopped liver, what does that make Pavs? A motherfu$#ing magician, bitch.
The team seemed to rally following Datsyuk’s first goal at the 16:17 mark of the 2nd period. They threatened to tie the game before the period expired. The Stars held on for a 3-2 lead but Detroit quickly scored the equalizer and the go-ahead goals early in the third. Datsyuk scored the goal to knot the game at 3-3. While Hank Zetterberg’s line didn’t do a great job creating picturesque scoring chances, they do have some size and some strength so they did the next best thing - crash the net.
Stephane Robidas batted the puck into his own net as a result of Mikael Samuelsson and Hank Zettergerg going to the front of the net for a loose puck. Sammy was credited with the goal. After the Wings took their first lead of the night the top line continued to look dangerous as Filppula and Datsyuk seem to be developing some pretty nice chemistry. Filppula ended up scoring the empty-net goal to seal the victory.
This was a game that had me worried early on as the Stars simply outplayed and outhuslted the Red Wings from the opening faceoff. But the way Detroit rebounded was a great sign. They’ve hung tough against the other top contenders in the West, they’ve rebounded nicely from a stretch of bad play that was a result of numerous injuries, and they’ve been able to play some younger players to develop some depth.
If anything concerns me it’s the current third line of Drake-Draper-Maltby, the third pairing on defense, and the team’s slow response on the PP to teams that stack the blueline. But as players get healthy and the team continues to gel as it gets reinforcements there will be time to work those issues out. A five game winning streak is much more preferable than the horrid month of February.
dallas stars Johan Franzen Pavel Datsyuk Red Wings Valtteri Filppula1 Comment(s)
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[…] 3. The third pairing on defense - I haven’t really dipped my toe into the donnybrook going on other than to point out that the third pairing on defense has concerned me. Matt over at On the Wings has something to say about Helene St. James’ commentary that suggested Chris Chelios isn’t a lock to play. I think the key here is the PK. Lidstrom, Kronwall, Stuart and one other d-man are going to play the bulk of the minutes. Lebda ain’t playing PK minutes during the playoffs and neither is Meech. So either Cheli or Lilja will play. Lilja can be physical but makes boneheaded mistakes from time to time. Cheli is pretty responsible but is a shadow of his former self when it comes to dishing out the punishment. My guess is Babcock is trying to subtly let Cheli know that he’s got to be a little better in front of the net. Positive Developments 1. Johan F’ING Franzen - The Mule is in the midst of a very impressive goal scoring streak. His development [20 goals so far this year], along with that of Valtteri Filppula [19 goals so far] has allowed Mike Babcock to keep Datsyuk and Zetterberg on separate lines. Franzen plays on Z’s line while Fil plays on Datsyuk’s wing. […]