The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap a 10-game losing streak against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
This one wasn’t even close. Tampa Bay defeated Detroit 4-1, extending their winning streak to 11 games, and Nikita Kucherov (1+3) had a 4-point game, Victor Hedman had 3 assists, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 38 of 39 Wings shots, and the Wings plain old got out-classed.
Jimmy Howard was very good despite giving up 4 goals on 32 shots against–because the Bolts worked lateral passes to perfection, scoring mostly empty-net markers–and Tomas Tatar scored the Wings’ goal on a good night for Tatar, Larkin and Bertuzzi…
But Anthony Mantha’s blind drop pass that yielded the Bolts’ 4-1 insurance goal typified the Wings’ attention to detail, or the lack thereof, as well as the Lightning’s aplomb in scoring on the counter-attack. The Wings just aren’t as good as the Bolts, by a fair margin, and they lost because of it.
The Red Wings’ lineup was known before the game, and the Red Wings posted an anticipated lineup which included Andreas Athanasiou, who ultimately missed the game with illness:
A look at tonight’s projected lineup. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/tRKn4GzzcL
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 15, 2018
The Lightning’s lineup wasn’t known until just prior to game time, and the Bolts’ writers aren’t very good about Tweeting it out, so:
The Lightning started Chris Kunitz, Vlasislav Namestnikov and Ryan Callahan at forward, Braydon Coburn and Dan Girardi on defense and Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal;
The Red Wings started Darren Helm, Frans Nielsen and Justin Abdelkader at forward, Danny DeKeyser and Nick Jensen on defense and Jimmy Howard in goal.
Brad Watson and Fredrick L’Ecuyer refereed the game, with Brad Kovachik and Brian Murphy working the lines.
The 1st period
1st period observations:
- Nielsen drew in for the opening faceoff opposite Namestnikov and the Bolts won the draw back to their defense. Tampa Bay dumped and chased, Helm chipped the puck back down the ice, and Kunitz gave the puck away to Nielsen, but the Wings chipped the puck out of play.
- Mantha, Zetterberg and Nyquist came over the boards with Ericsson and Daley opposite Killorn, Kucherov and Point, with Hedman and Stralman, and the Bolts skated into the Wings’ zone and fired the game’s first shot on Howard at 54 seconds of the 1st period.
- Bertuzzi, Larkin and Tatar came out and won a defensive zone draw, forcing Kucherov offside at the Wings’ blueline. Larkin then took a center ice faceoff opposite Stamkos, the Wings battled the puck into the Lightning zone, and Vasilevskiy played the puck to his defense as Steven Stamkos sat for high-sticking Bertuzzi.
Stamkos sat at 1:25 for high-sticking.
- Frk got the Wings’ first shot off the Wings’ faceoff win, sending a wrist shot in on Vasilevskiy, and the Wings then re-set at center as Kronwall, Mantha, Nyquist and Zetterberg joined Frk on the ice.
- The Wings changed their lines up only 45 seconds into the PP, with Green carrying the puck into the offensive zone for Tatar, but the Bolts chipped the puck down ice, and Tatar, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Abdelkader and Green struggled significantly to enter the Bolts’ zone, ultimately surrendering a shot attempt to Hedman, and almost surrendering a breakaway to Yanni Gourde.
- The Wings entered the zone as Stamkos skated out of the penalty box, and Zetterberg set up Nyquist for a scoring chance that went wide once, then twice.
- Tampa Bay advanced into the Wings’ zone…
And Steven Stamkos tucked in a Victor Hedman pass, with the Red Wings completely allowing Stamkos to skate free of Gustav Nyquist and tucking a puck in past Howard, who had little chance to stop the shot.
Victor Hedman delivers a perfect pass to Steven Stamkos, who scores to put the @TBLightning ahead early on the visiting Red Wings. Watch all of tonight’s action live now on FOX Sports Sun! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/OOUTzSaWgS
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) February 16, 2018
- Nielsen, Helm and Abdelkader worked the bump-up shift with Ericsson and Daley, and Bertuzi snuck on the ice and got a pair of good chances, blasting long shots and then short ones on Vasilevskiy as Bertuzzi and Larkin replaced the Nielsen line.
- 5:15 into the 1st, the Wings were changing on the fly to maximize their match-ups.
- Zetterberg, Mantha and Larkin worked together for a brief moment and struggled…
With Mantha taking a holding penalty against Stralman at 5:58.
- Detroit won the initial defensive zone faceoff and cleared the puck down the ice.
- Then Glendening, Abdelkader, Daley and Ericsson set up on the PK, Tampa Bay worked the perimeter, and Kucherov couldn’t tuck in the rebound of a Stralman shot. Howard looked fairly sharp as he caught a wide shot to give the Wings a faceoff…
- Detroit also looked good on the PK, blocking shots and passes.
- Detroit changed PK units some 1:00 into the PK, but things went badly.
Nikita Kucherov raced up ice, starting the play, he passed it over to Namestnikov, Jensen and DeKeyser got crossed up and Kucherov was freed up to tuck in the pass from Namestnikov as a result.
Kucherov keeps on rolling, netting his 31st goal of the season! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/T1zlz7vKem
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) February 16, 2018
- Detroit looked lost. The Wings’ fundamentals were fine, but when the Lightning threatened, Detroit’s defensive structure collaped and the Wings chased the puck carrier.
- Howard held the Bolts’ sixth shot and we headed to a TV timeout at 7:01.
- 7:01 into the 1st, Detroit was out-shot 6-2 and out-attempted 10-6; hits were 3-3; giveaways 3-2 Detroit, takeaways 2-2; blocked shots 4-1 Detroit; faceoffs 5-5 (50%).
- The Lightning continued to threaten as Kucherov, Killorn and Point buzzed down low opposite Ericsson, Daley and Zetterberg’s line, and the Wings were not reacting well to the Lightning’s in-game line changes, losing their checks.
- Mantha and Kronwall set up Nyquist for a pair of superb chances that Vasilevskiy parried away, and after Green kept the puck in, Kronwall blasted a heavy shot on Vasilevskiy.
- Kronwall was stopped.
- Again, the Red Wings were trying hard and displaying a high level of engagement, and Abdelkader got a great chance in the slot vs. Vasilevskiy via a Helm pass, but the Wings couldn’t beat the Bolts’ goaltender…
- And Tampa Bay was not losing coverage in the defensive zone.
- Tampa Bay would set back up in the Wings’ zone, and Howard had to make a tremendous stop as the Bolts worked a lateral pass again, with Callahan firing the shot in on Howard.
- The Wings continued to generate solid chances as Bertuzzi, Larkin and Tatar worked together…
- And the Wings rolled three lines against the Lightning, with Nyquist sending a slick backhand in on Vasilevskiy, and Kronwall firing a hard slapper from the point on the Bolts’ goalie as well…
- So Detroit was not giving up.
- Vasilevskiy stopped another blocker shot as the Wings got their 9th shot at 13:00, and Mantha sent a slapper in on Vasilevskiy to usher in a TV timeout.
- At 13:17, Detroit led in shots 9-8 and had 14 attempts to Tampa’s 15; hits were 7-3 Detroit; giveaways 3-3, takeaways 4-3 Tampa Bay; blocked shots 4-2 Detroit; faceoffs 6-5 Detroit (55%).
- When play resumed, the Wings forced the Bolts to ice the puck, Larkin won a battle with Callahan, and Kronwall blasted a heavy slapper in on Vasilevskiy from some distance.
- Detroit was getting its share of point shots on net;
- The Wings’ transition game was OK, too, though Detroit got pressured at the offensive blueline and slowed down a bit;
- Abdelkader got a lateral shot on Vasilevskiy and that was the Wings’ 12th shot of the period.
- At 14:52, Detroit out-shot Tampa Bay 12-8 and out-attempted Tampa 17-15; hits were 7-3 Detroit; giveaways 3-3, takeaways 4-3 Tampa; blocked shots 4-2 Detroit; faceoffs 8-6 Detroit (57%).
- When play resumed, Jensen chipped, Frk, Booth and Glendening chased, and when the Lightning emerged, Howard made a short side stop, another stop from the slot, and in general, the fourth line looked like a line that wasn’t going to get much ice time as it got backed in terribly quickly.
- Larkin’s line replaced Glendening’s, and they iced the puck, gave way to Nielsen and company, and Detroit worked the puck through center, Daley blasted a slapper in on Vasilevskiy, and Nielsen got a slot shot off on Vasilevskiy as well…
- Howard made a good stop on the 11th shot that went his way, via Killorn, and the Wings continued to skate hard and dictate the pace of play;
- Nielsen fed Ericsson for the Wings’ 15th shot of the period–but as you might notice, the Wings’ shots were mainly coming from the point.
Braydon Coburn sat at 18:43 for tripping, and Detroit headed to the power play.
- The Wings lost the initial offensive zone faceoff, and Kronwall carried the puck to center before feeding Zetterberg. Ultimately the puck came to Frk, and he blasted a heavy shot in on Vasilevskiy from about 35 feet out, whistling a shot past Dan Girardi.
- The Wings changed units only 35 seconds into the PP, and Green, Tatar and Larkin tried to work an umbrella PP unit, they re-entered the zone, and Green worked the puck deep himself and the Wings ground the puck out down low until time expired.
The 1st period in summary: The Wings played just fine offensively, save the fact that they had no traffic on Vasilevskiy, and the Wings looked like a team that was going to grind down the Bolts over time…Except for the fact that Detroit gave up two tremendous scoring chances that the Bolts converted upon to build a 2-0 lead, and Detroit’s defense was generally inept in terms of affording Howard protection from lateral passes.
Statistically, Detroit out-shot Tampa Bay 17-12 and out-attempted Tampa Bay 23-20; hits were 9-3 Detroit; giveaways 4-3 Detroit, takeaways 4-4 (possession changes 8-7 Tampa Bay); blocked shots 5-3 Detroit, faceoffs 11-11 (50%);
Individually, Nyquist led the Wings with 3 shots, and Abdelkader, Mantha, Frk, Kronwall and Daley had 2 shots; Kronwall had 3 hits and Booth had 2 hits; Ericsson had 2 giveaways; Green, Mantha, Helm and Ericsson had takeaways; 5 players blocked 1 shot; Zetterberg’s 5-and-2 (71%) faceoff record led the Wings, who were -5 and 0-for-2 on the power play; Kronwall led the Wings with 8:20 played; Green played 7:20, Zetterberg 6:58, Larkin 6:41, Bertuzzi 6:29, Mantha 6:19, Nyquist 6:12, Abdelkader 5:54, Ericsson 5:29.
First period breakdown. pic.twitter.com/MBX5KDhN5C
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 16, 2018
FSD had the scoring chances at 9-4 Detroit on their 17-12 shot advantage.
The 2nd period
2nd period observations:
- The 2nd period began with the Red Wings on the power play for 43 seconds.
- Zetterberg, Mantha, Nyquist, Frk and Kronwall started the power play and worked the puck into Tampa Bay’s zone, where the Wings worked the perimeter and Frk blasted a one-timer into Vasilevskiy.
- Tampa Bay got a shorthanded chance and ragged the puck around through center ice before chipping it down ice, but Tampa Bay did surrender a final-seconds-of-the-PP chance to Mantha, who ripped a snapper wide of the net.
- A minute into the 2nd period, Tatar, Bertuzzi and Larkin were checking Stamkos’ line, and they worked with Ericsson and Daley to stifle a Bolts rush.
- Jensen got away with a trip on Kunitz as he skated into the Wings’ zone, so Callahan smashed DeKeyser sans penalty, Namestnikov got two scoring chances, and 2:12 into the 2nd period, Tampa Bay got 2 shots in less than 20 seconds.
- Zetterberg, Nyquist and Mantha then set up in the Bolts’ zone, sent some shots wide of Vasilevskiy, and forced Cedric Paquette offside.
- So Larkin’s line came out vs. Stamkos’ line, they gave up a shot to Stamkos, and Bertuzzi raced up on a 3-on-2, firing a sneaky shot in on Vasilevskiy, who made a smart stop.
- Tatar also got a great scoring chance on Vasilevskiy from the slot, but with no traffic in front…
- Vasilevskiy was putting on a clinic.
- Helm, Nielsen and Abdelkader found the Lightning collapsing around their goalie…
- And when they pinched too deeply, Howard made a HUGE stop on a Kucherov breakaway.
- So not much had changed. Tampa would give up scoring chances but barely had to sneeze to generate their own Grade A chances.
- 5:40 into the 2nd, Zetterberg swiped the puck from Coburn, Nyquist raced in and stopped instead of sending the puck to Mantha, firing an easy shot in on Vasilevskiy.
- 5:58 in the 2nd, Detroit and Tampa Bay were tied 4-4 in shots in the 2nd, but Detroit led 21-16 overall; attempts 31-27 Detroit; hits 10-5 Detroit; giveaways 6-3 Detroit, takeaways 4-4; blocked shots 6-5 Detroit; faceoffs 14-13 Detroit (52%).
- Booth, Glendening and Frk took to the ice and offered very little in the way of positive or negative presence during their rare shift, which I suppose is not a surprise.
- On the next shift, the Bolts got back to stop Green’s attempt to slither through the defense, and Tampa got two shot attempts going the other way.
- Tampa started to press offensively, and while Detroit was blocking shots and passes, the Wings responded by firing single, un-screened, un-pursued shots in on Vasilevskiy, with Larkin getting the latest chance.
- Mantha worked his way into the “shooter’s” position as Zetterberg set up for a deep offensive zone faceoff, and Zetterberg mucked it to the side boards, so the win-and-shoot theory didn’t work, but Detroit was earning its “almosts.”
- Detroit’s defense was doing a better job of staying with the Bolts’ puck carriers, too. Ericsson and Daley stifled a couple of shot attempts.
- Tampa Bay still worked its lateral passes, and the Wings were picking them off this time around…
- But play slowly and surely dragged to a halt as the Lightning decided that it was going to actually backcheck, and the halfway mark passed with Jimmy Howard making a stop.
- At 10:05 Detroit and Tampa Bay were tied 6-6 in shots during the 2nd period, and shots were 23-18 Tampa Bay overall; attempts 33-31 Detroit; hits 12-7 Detroit; giveaways 6-4 Detroit; takeaways 5-4 Detroit; blocked shots 7-5 Detroit; faceoffs 16-16 (50%).
- The Lightning took control of the opening faceoff after the TV timeout, and Tampa hemmed the Wings in, with Kucherov, Point and Killorn working opposite Glendening, Zetterberg and Nyquist, with Daley and Ericsson watching a Kucherov shot whistle just wide of the net.
- The Nielsen line and Green worked the puck in deep and Green just missed a shot some 11:23 into the 2nd, and Green was having a fine game;
- But Tampa Bay was explosive. All of a sudden, Larkin’s line had surrendered a rush to Yanni Gourde, and he raced in on Howard, who made a superb glove save as the Stamkos line schooled Larkin and Bertuzzi.
- Zetterberg’s line was brought out against Stamkos,’ and they fared a little better, holding Tampa Bay to the perimeter and forcing the Bolts to change lines.
- Howard gobbled up the Bolts’ 20th shot, a slapper from Coburn from 60 feet out at 12:34;
- Vasilevskiy was making a fair number of “saves” to stifle plays and get faceoffs, so I wonder whether the Bolts’ shot clock was a little favorable to the Wings.
Detroit got a dumb penalty as Danny DeKeyser got called for holding at 13:23, yielding a crucial penalty-kill for Detroit.
- The Bolts won the opening faceoff and worked the puck to Hedman, who blasted a slapper in on Howard. Howard made a great glove save.
- Detroit’s Larkin, Glendening, Daley and Ericsson set up and cleared the puck, ground it out down low in their own zone, and Larkin found Daley for a free shot on Vasilevskiy, who stopped Daley cold.
- Detroit’s next PK unit got a rush off, with Helm and Nielsen fumbling a 2-on-2, and the Bolts raced up the other way, but Kronwall broke up the Lightning’s rush with a smart stick, and when Kronwall could not clear the puck, Jensen helped #55 slam the puck down the ice on his second try.
- The PK ticked down to its final seconds with Howard making a big glove stop on Girardi.
- At 15:28, the shots in the 2nd were 10-10, and Detroit led 27-21 overall; attempts were 41-39 Tampa Bay; hits 14-9 Detroit; giveaways 7-4 Detroit, takeaways 5-5; blocked shots 10-7 Detroit; faceoffs 23-21 Tampa Bay (48%).
- As play resumed, Zetterberg’s line lost a defensive zone faceoff but worked the puck out of trouble, and into the Bolts’ zone.
- Problem: Detroit didn’t look like it was going to score an actual goal during the game.
And Detroit took a penalty. Tampa Bay’s Stamkos worked end to end on the delayed call, and Mantha sat down at 16:43, for interference.
- Tampa Bay set up on the PP opposite Glendening, Larkin, Ericsson and Daley, and Howard battled Gourde’s jabs and Callahan’s jam, with a bit of a scrum developing after play.
- Howard made another stop and the Wings cleared the zone, but the Bolts returned quickly, cycled around the perimeter, worked the puck down low, and set up some lateral passes.
- Detroit banged the puck out of trouble, and the Wings may have gotten away with one as Callahan got tripped up and/or dove vs. Jensen.
- With the Bolts chanting, “Ref you suck,” Tampa Bay scored the 3-0 goal.
The Lightning set up, Kucherov faked a one-timer and instead passed it through two Wings PK’ers and into Stamkos’ wheelhouse. Stamkos blasted a shot into an open net as Howard had no chance to slide over.
Don’t look now… @RealStamkos91 has two goals tonight. pic.twitter.com/lgjmiPMd5R
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 16, 2018
With all eyes on Kucherov, Stamkos is left with a wiiiiiiide open net. And he doesn’t miss those. #GoBoltspic.twitter.com/aUw0SchECc
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) February 16, 2018
Stamkos made it 3-0 at 18:08 from Kucherov and Hedman.
- Kucherov had 3 points. 1 G 2 A.
The Wings got their chance to tie the game as Vladislav Namestnikov hacked Zetterberg in the face as he was going down.
Namestnikov went to the box at 18:36, and Detroit needed a PPG.
- The Wings lost the initial deep zone faceoff, the Bolts cleared the puck once, then twice, and Detroit really set up on the PP for the first time some 48 seconds into it.
- Bertuzzi found Kronwall, Tatar shot the puck into the slot…
And Tatar’s slap shot went off a Lightning stick and through an Abdelkader/Bertuzzi screen to make it 3-1.
- Detroit brought Zetterberg out for the post-goal shift, and he, Mantha and Nyquist shepherded the puck to the end of the 2nd period.
The 2nd period in summary: The Red Wings had an excellent second period but surrendered a 3-0 goal to Steven Stamkos before getting a late PPG…to give themselves a 2-goal deficit heading into the 3rd period. It looked like Tampa Bay was just going to out-class the Wings in terms of their execution, and that was frustrating.
Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 13-11 in the 2nd, and shots were 28-25 Detroit overall. Attempts were 45-40 Tampa Bay; hits 17-10 Detroit; giveaways 7-4 Detroit, takeaways 5-5 (possession changes 12-9 Tampa Bay); blocked shots 11-7 Tampa Bay; faceoffs 27-24 Tampa Bay (47% for Detroit).
Individually, Tatar and Nyquist had 4 shots apiece; Frk, Bertuzzi and Daley had 3 shots; Abdelkader, Mantha and Kronwall had 2 shots; Kronwall had 3 hits, and Booth, Mantha and Glendening had 2 hits; Ericsson had 2 giveaways; Helm had 2 takeaways; Ericsson blocked 3 shots, Bertuzzi 2; Zetterberg’s 11-and-5 (69%) faceoff record led the Wings; Detroit remained at -5; Kronwall led the Wings with 15:05 played; Green played 13:59, Daley 13:55, Zetterberg 13:34, Larkin 12:59, Nyquist 12;48, Mantha 12:04, Bertuzzi 11:07, Jensen 11:04.
#RedWings have the edge in shots after 40… pic.twitter.com/CgX6pfqci5
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 16, 2018
FSD had the scoring chances at 17-14 Detroit on their 28-25 shot lead.
The 3rd period
3rd period observations:
- Larkin drew in for the opening draw vs. Stamkos and the Bolts won the draw, but had to recoil at center ice before attacking, as Gourde and Johnson worked the puck to Stamkos, Hedman fired a long shot in that Bertuzzi blocked, and Stamkos and Hedman blasted shots just wide of the goal.
- Detroit changed lines 1 minute into the 3rd, and Tampa Bay brought Kucherov out. He sent a hard snapper in on Howard, and Jimmy made a good stop.
- Regrettably, the Wings fumbled the puck low in the Bolts’ zone…
And Detroit watched Tampa Bay race into the Wings’ zone, where Nikita Kucherov dished the puck to Alex Killorn, who drew Howard out and down and tucked the puck in over Howard backhanded.
When Kucherov is out there dropping dimes, goals are as smooth as an Alex Killorn backhand. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/APuJIG5Tiy
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) February 16, 2018
- Booth, Glendening and Frk got a rare shift on the post-goal push, and they did fairly well, pushing the puck into the offensive zone and helping the Wings’ defense parry a Tampa Bay rush away.
- Mantha looked terrible on the goal against, and Mantha and Nyquist and Zetterberg did not have the greatest second shift after the goal. They got a shot off, but they were playing the puck back, back, and back some more.
- Jensen at least pinched and helped Nyquist pressure the Bolts, and the Wings stood up to Tampa Bay fairly well.
- Kunitz, Namestnikov and Callahan then pestered the hell out of Nielsen’s line, Ericsson and Daley, with Detroit rather desperately poking pucks away and out to center ice.
- With 13:43 remaining in the 3rd, Detroit was out-shot 6-3 in the 3rd, and shots on the night were 31-31; attempts 54-44 Tampa Bay; giveaways 7-5 Detroit, takeaways 6-5 Tampa Bay; blocked shots 13-8 Detroit; faceoffs 28-27 Tampa Bay (49%).
- When play resumed, the Wings tried to finesse the puck out of their own zone, and that led to a short shift for Zetterberg, Nyquist and Blind Drop Pass Mantha.
- I like Mantha. I like Mantha a lot. But his blind drop passes drive me nuts.
- Daley and Green had successive shifts in which they pressured offensively–superbly well–but nothing came of their rushes.
- For whatever reason, the Lightning were more than willing to give up shots, and Detroit took them–Larkin, Bertuzzi and Tatar buzzed the Bolts’ net…
- But Tampa Bay roared into the Wings’ zone, and Callahan nearly set up Killorn for a 5-1 goal. His shot went wide, thus it wasn’t a goal against.
- Booth got a solid chance on Vasilevskiy, too, but the Bolts’ goaltender was shutting Detroit down with ease because there were no screens or tips or rebounds.
- When play resumed from a TV timeout some 10:35 into the 3rd, Booth, Glendening and Frk were rewarded with another shift, and they did an OK job of checking the Bolts’ fourth line.
- Helm tried to help Nielsen convert on a one-timer to squeeze the deficit, but Nielsen whiffed on the set-up.
- The game felt as if it was going to wind down without incident–a rarity between these two teams–but Tampa Bay still had the gas pedal down, and the Wings were starting to chase Tampa Bay.
- Zetterberg, Mantha and Nyquist were struggling, however, as Mantha and Nyquist were dogging it a bit.
- I honestly spent a decent amount of time talking to people on Twitter about the Yzerman situation while the clock ticked down to 6 minutes remaining.
- It wasn’t as if the Wings “gave up” as Helm did some lateral passing of his own…
- But the Wings were sort of resigned to the deficit, and the Bolts were happy to trap and kill clock.
- With 5:28 remaining, Detroit out-shot Tampa 7-6 in the 3rd and 35-31 overall.
- Tampa Bay also was just dominant when Steven Stamkos was on the ice with Hedman at the point. Stamkos and Hedman were a Datsyuk-and-Lidstrom-like combo.
- The 5 minutes-remaining mark passed, Mantha continued to get a regular shift with Zetterberg and Nyquist, and they gave up a point shot to the Bolts and let Tampa Bay play dead with the puck for a while.
- Tampa Bay continued to pressure the Wings at times, too, and the Glendening line really struggled vs. Gourde and Paquette.
- Larkin, Bertuzzi and Tatar gave the Wings one final flourish with 1:50 remaining, cycling down low with desperation and working with Daley and Ericsson to push the pace, but that was that.
- Time ticked down and ticked down, and as Mantha, Nyquist and Jensen worked a 4-on-2 with Zetterberg, Vasilevskiy made a big stop and…
- Lather, rinse, repeat.
Frans Nielsen got called for a slashing penalty with 27.5 seconds remaining…
- Stamkos and company came out for the power play, and instead, Ericsson, Larkin and Glendening worked down low in the Bolts’ zone, generating a scoring chance before time expired.
The 3rd period in summary: The Wings at least looked like a team that could have generated some pressure on the Bolts as the 3rd period began, but all of 1:35 into the period, a bad decision to cheat offensively by Mantha, Zetterberg and Nyquist yielded a remarkably pretty goal by Killorn that all but killed the Wings’ hopes.
Detroit still out-shot Tampa Bay 11-7 in the 3rd and 39-32 on the night, but Vasilevskiy didn’t have to work very hard to stop 38 of the pucks directed at him.
Statistics:
Here’s the Game Summary…
And the Event Summary:
The final shots were 39-32 Detroit, but the final attempts were 62-55 Tampa Bay.
Hey George
Missed the last two periods as I had ball hockey tonight.
What happened to Mike Green?
Video of the injury
https://twitter.com/TranLongmoore/status/964365243844460545
Boy, that is weird. Last shift at 10:31 of the 3rd, no news afterward. It looks like only HSJ and Fox Sports Detroit made it down to Tampa, too. http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20172018/TV020883.HTM
I think for the Wings’ sake, we’ll have to hope that this was just a preventative “early pull.” Scary stuff.