The Anaheim Ducks came to Detroit tonight to play the Red Wings. Hiller was the goalie for the Ducks and Howard was in for the Wings as Osgood still had flu symptoms. Howard was coming off two strong performances in his first crack at back to back starts.
This game had a fast pace right from the start. Both teams seemed to have a lot of jump. Detroit was really buzzing for a goal and had several scoring chances in the first five minutes alone.
In the first period Selanne was called for roughing and the Red Wings went on the power play. Kronwall released a shot from the point. It hit an Anaheim player and changed direction, and then it hit Cleary’s stick up high near his hands. It changed direction again and bounced into the net giving the Red Wings the one to nothing lead. Hiller didn’t have a chance on that one the way it was bouncing around. They stopped the game to review the goal to see if Cleary gloved it in but the call on the ice was upheld.
In the final minute of the first period there was a scuffle in front of the Anaheim net. Ericsson and Perry came close to fighting but never threw any punches. When it was all sorted out Getzlaf had some extra time for unsportsmanlike conduct after crosschecking Zetterberg several times after the whistle. The Wings went on the power play. Just 10 seconds into it Rafalski shot from the high slot. Holmstrom was in front of the net waiting for a tip. The puck hit Niedermayer’s stick and changed direction slightly but it got through the five hole on Hiller. Getzlaf had been given a double minor so his second penalty started right after the goal.
The period ended with the Red Wings up two to nothing. They also had power play time left on the board for the start of the second period. Detroit outshot Anaheim 17 to 6 in the first period.
Approaching the halfway point of the second period Ericsson had the puck behind his own net. He attempted to pass it up ice but instead he hit Getzlaf with it right next to the net. Getzlaf knocked it down and passed it to Perry who was moving up in the slot. Perry quickly shot the puck beating Howard and bringing the Ducks to within a goal of tying the game.
That was the only goal of the period. Howard made some good saves to hold the lead. Brad Stuart also made a very nice diving play on Selanne to save a goal.
In the third period Cleary was the victim of what in my opinion was a really bad call. He was called for interference after battling for the puck with Wisniewski. He didn’t take his hand off the stick or trip him or hook him. They were just jostling for position using their shoulders. Apparently at random, they decided Cleary had done something wrong.
On the Ducks’ power play Jimmy Howard turned the puck over attempting to clear it. Getzlaf passed it to Ryan down at the goal line. He shot from the bad angle and somehow got it in behind Howard to tie the game at two each.
Then Parros took a run at Ericsson. He left his feet and slammed his head into the glass. He was called for roughing but it probably could have just easily been boarding or charging.
On the ensuing power play the Red Wings were moving the puck very well and doing a good job keeping it in the Anaheim zone. Rafalski made a beauty of a pass from the high slot to Datsyuk near the bottom of the circle. Datsyuk just tapped it and deflected it into the top corner of the net giving the Wings back the lead three to two.
Just a few seconds later Anaheim tied it up again. They had the puck in Detroit’s end and it finally came back to Getzlaf. He passed it to Lupul in the high slot who shot it and beat Howard under his pad. That tied it up at three all.
A few minutes later the Red Wings were really buzzing for a goal. They had just hit the crossbar on the previous shift. Cleary made a great play to protect the puck along the boards and get it into the zone. He passed it to Zetterberg who shot it but Hiller made the save. The rebound dropped right in front of Hiller. Zetterberg stayed with it and picked up his own rebound and shot it again. This time he buried it in the back of the net and the Red Wings were back up by one with about 10 minutes left in the game.
Then Zetterberg was called for a slash and during the Ducks’ power play the Red Wings had too many men on the ice. It wasn’t caught at first and the Ducks’ bench was going bananas. Finally, Helm tried to sneak off the ice but the linesman was standing right by the bench and saw that there were still four Red Wings out there. That gave the Ducks a 5 on 3 power play for over a minute.
On the power play Getzlaf blasted one that caught the top corner of the net and tied the game again. The Ducks still had nearly a minute of power play time but the Wings killed off the rest of it.
Just as the penalty expired the Red Wings entered the offensive zone. Cleary passed across to Zetterberg who shot one that beat Hiller up high and took back the lead. It didn’t look like Zetterberg got all of it. The puck was sort of off speed and wobbling. I don’t think Hiller could really tell where it was headed.
Then Bertuzzi shot that looked for all the world like a goal. The crowd started yelling and the horn even sounded for a second but it hadn’t gone in.
At the other end the Ducks hit a post and then Helm brought it back the other way. Helm just brought it into the zone and ripped it. Hiller got a little of it but he didn’t stop it and it rolled into the net behind him. That put the Red Wings up six to four.
Hiller was pulled with about minute and 15 seconds left. As time was winding down Zetterberg was on the ice. Mickey Redmond referred to him as “Curly Fries” because of the Arby’s promotion in which they give away a free order of curly fries to any fan that brings in the box score the day after a Red Wings player gets a hat trick. Zetterberg had two goals. Kronwall picked up the puck in his own zone and flipped to Zetterberg with about five seconds left in the game and an empty net at the other end. Zetterberg took it towards the empty net and shot it from just past center ice. He put it in the net with just seven tenths of a second left. Curly fries for everyone! I wonder what they’d say if I went to my local Arby’s here in Tampa and asked for my free curly fries.
Well, this was a really entertaining game. The Red Wings outplayed the Ducks terribly but thy Ducks just kept hanging around just like they always seem to do. Luckily the Wings had more mojo tonight. Lots of Red Wings had great games tonight including Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Rafalski, Stuart and Kronwall. They’re really putting together a pretty good streak now and looking great especially considering all the missing players.
This 4-7 win brings us to:
10-5-3
23 points
Tags: Anaheim, Detroit, Ducks, NHL, Red Wings, Red Wings Blog