Red Wings-Hurricanes quick take: Wings out-work and out-block the Canes

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap a 3-game losing streak while hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. The Red Wings trailed the Hurricanes by 6 points in the Wild Card standings, and Detroit needed to make up some ground.

The Wings’ first period wasn’t pretty, but Detroit played a tremendous final 2 periods’ worth of hockey, out-working, out-hustling, out-grinding and especially out-blocking the Carolina Hurricanes, winning 3-1.

Detroit blocked 31 Carolina Hurricanes attempts, with Danny DeKeyser blocking 7 shots alone, and 6 players blocking 3 shots apiece…

When shots got through to Jimmy Howard, Howard was excellent, stopping 28 of 29 shots, and at the other end of the ice, DeKeyser, Zetterberg and Daley scored goals on Scott Darling.

The Hurricanes’ lineup was known just before game time, as posted by CarolinaHurricanes.com’s Michael Smith:

The Red Wings’ lineup was estimated a little earlier:

The Hurricanes started Brock McGinn, Elias Lindholm and Justin Williams at forward, Jaccob Slavin and Justin Faulk on defense and Scott Darling in goal;

The Red Wings started Gustav Nyquist, Henrik Zetterberg and Anthony Mantha at forward, Danny DeKeyser and Nick Jensen on defense and Jimmy Howard in goal.

Brad Watson and Ian Walsh refereed the game, with Devin Berg and Steve Miller working the lines.

The 1st period

1st period observations:

  • Zetterberg drew in for the opening faceoff opposite Lindholm and the Wings won the draw, chipped and chased, and Danny DeKeyser’s flip pass put Zetterberg offside only 6 seconds into the game.
  • Zetterberg then got tossed out of the zone and Mantha lost his faceoff, affording Carolina shallow possession in the Wings’ zone and then a re-set in which the Canes skated deep into Detroit’s zone and jammed the puck out down low.
  • DeKeyser and Jensen took over, DeKeyser stumbled, and the Canes held the puck in and changed 58 seconds into the 1st.
  • Jensen flipped the puck all the way down the ice, but Darling played the puck out to center, and Abdelkader, Nielsen and Helm forced the Canes offside at the Wings’ line.
  • 1:21 into the 1st period, the Wings lost a faceoff at their blueline, Larkin, Athanasiou and Tatar re-set at center and they iced the puck at 1:42.
  • Larkin drew in for the defensive zone draw and lost it; Carolina chipped the puck deep, cycled, and Ouellet helped a stick-less Tomas Tatar clear the puck out of trouble.
  • 3:05 into the 1st, the Wings’ fourth line of Booth, Glendening and Bertuzzi took to the ice, and they iced the puck at 3:17.
  • Glendening drew in for the defensive zone faceoff and won it, but Carolina was particularly tough to break through at center, eventually dumping and chasing the puck into the Wings’ zone.
  • Ericsson and Daley struggled to clear their own zone, Ericsson turned the puck over at center ice, and both teams changed some 4:04 into the 1st.
  • Zetterberg and Mantha managed to clear the puck and work it into the Canes’ zone, but they couldn’t work the puck back to their defensemen, and they had to re-set.
  • Mantha and Nyquist set up DeKeyser for a long, wide shot, and then Wings had to clamp down defensively on Aho to stifle a scoring chance.
  • Howard chipped a puck to the corner but the Canes took over, with McGinn, Williams and Lindholm cycling. Faulk pinched and fired a hard wrister on Howard, who made a good stop on the Canes’ first shot some 4:30 into the 1st.
  • Carolina was dominating possession and control in a chippy first period, and the Wings were having a hard time getting through center ice as they were skating though center ice without speed.
  • Detroit chipped and chased, with Larkin, Athanasiou and Tatar holding the puck in the offensive zone, and when the Canes attacked, Ouellet and Kronwall did their best to ensure that the Canes were stuck on the wall.
  • Carolina’s defense pinched smartly, however, yielding a wide attempt by Pesce.
  • The Wings skated into the Canes’ zone, Athanasiou was tackled and then held on the boards, and Bertuzzi and Glendening joined the fray, Detroit re-set at center, and the Canes cleared the zone.
  • Ugly. Ugly hockey.
  • Bertuzzi didn’t stop Teravainen down low in the Wings’ zone, Trevor van Riemsdyk blasted a one-timer wide of the net, Carolina re-set and attacked Zetterberg’s line and Howard had to cover up a puck at 7:02.
  • At 7:02, shots were 2-0 Carolina, attempts 7-1 Carolina; hits 4-3 Detroit; giveaways 0-0, takeaways 2-0 Detroit; blocked shots 4-1 Detroit; faceoffs 3-3 (50%).
  • When play resumed after the TV timeout, Carolina got a shot attempt and a long shot on Howard as Faulk pinched (again, the Canes leaned hard on their defense).
  • Zetterberg won the second faceoff in his own zone and Detroit cleared the puck into the Canes’ zone, but Carolina raced back into Detroit’s end of the ice, and Slavin got a shot off that Howard stopped via a glove save.
  • With 12:33 remaining in the 1st, Larkin lost a defensive zone draw, Skinner raced into the slot and drew a penalty while Howard made a stop.

Tomas Tatar went off for hooking at 7:33.

  • On the PK, Larkin, Glendening, Ericsson and Daley set up, Howard made a stop off the hop, Carolina worked the perimeter and hit the post behind Howard on a one-timer using the “umbrella” formation.
  • Carolina continued to dominate possession…

And Jimmy Howard could not contain the puck off the blocker side, Justin Faulk crashed, banged and hacked and whacked the puck, and it rolled into the net.

 The NHL reviewed the play as Faulk kicked the puck into the net at 8:09, and the play was ruled NO GOAL because Faulk could not get the puck up to his stick in time.

  • The PP continued with the Wings winning a draw at their blueline and flipping a long looper into Darling’s glove…
  • So Detroit got a deep zone faceoff on the PK, Nielsen and Helm drew in for the faceoff and lost it, and Carolina chugged up ice, worked the umbrella again, and set up with Jensen and DeKeyser defending.
  • Carolina cycled the puck down low, then to the point, then down low, with Aho chugging up and down the wing with Teravainen. The Canes flipped the puck down low, Williams fanned on the shot, Aho and then Teravainen were blocked and stopped by Howard, respectively, and Carolina cycled one more time, with Howard making a head save as Tatar exited the box.
  • 10 minutes into the 1st period, Mantha held the puck in the Canes’ zone, he worked a one-timer with Zetterberg, and Nyquist was bloced off, but Daley skated in from the right point, fed Mantha, and helped down low. Mantha slid a puck into the slot that Kronwall tipped wide, and Carolina dumped the puck down ice.
  • Bertuzzi avoided a nasty hit but was bumped by Slavin, Tatar worked with Athanasiou and Bertuzzi on a post-PK shift, and Carolina returned to the Wings’ zone.
  • Ouellet, Bertuzzi, DeKeyser and Tatar all touched the puck as the Wings raced up ice, but they were blocked off, Jensen slid the puck around the end boards, and Detroit could only clear their own zone before Carolina would return with a strong attack.
  • GLendening raced in 2-on-1 with Booth, but Glendening was blocked off by Haydin Fleury;
  • Larkin, Glendening and Abdelkader worked together 12:40 into the 1st, and they gave way to the Zetterberg line as Carolina chipped, chased, and surrendered possession to Ericsson and Daley, who chipped and afforded the Wings a chase.
  • DeKeyser turned the puck over at center ice but steered the Canes to the side boards, Nyquist and Mantha escaped and Mantha chipped a side-of-the-net shot off Darling, and Darling made another stop before Carolina raced into the Wings’ zone 3-on-2, where Justin Williams blasted a heavy shot in on Howard.
  • At 13:48, Detroit was out-shot 10-3 and out-attempted 19-6; hits were 7-6 Detroit; giveaways 2-2, takeaways 2-0 Detroit; blocked shots 7-2 Detroit; faceoffs 6-6 (50%).
  • The commercial break revealed that Mantha had ditched his “bubble” shield despite a broken cheekbone.
  • When play resumed, the Wings iced the puck, Nielsen lost a deep defensive zone draw, and Daley helped facilitate a full-ice pass to Helm, who negated an icing call.
  • Carolina skated back into the Wings’ zone, cycled the puck from the point down low, and Detroit cleared.
  • Chip and chase, chip and chase, chip and chase. Or not chase. That was the Canes’ game.
  • Darling ended up playing the puck around the boards to center ice with 15:00 gone in the 1st, and Carolina took over, pushing the puck to the half boards, where Athanasiou took over.
  • Larkin fed Athanasiou but put the puck off AA’s skate; Ouellet held the puck in…

And Larkin worked the puck back to DeKeyser, who was WIDE OPEN on the left side of the ice as Carolina over-committed to cover Larkin…

 DeKeyser skated in, put the puck off Darling’s glove and into the net at 15:41.

DeKeyser scored the 1-0 goal from Larkin and Ouellet.

  • On the post-goal shift, Carolina tried to penetrate the Wings’ zone repeatedly but found Ericsson and Daley tougher on defense, and when Carolina did set up offensively, Ericsson got away with a trip, and Detroit iced the puck with 3:09 left in the 1st.
  • Detroit was out-shot 10-4 but led 1-0.
  • Again, Ericsson and Daley were involved in play as Zetterberg’s line cleared to center, Mantha chipped and Detroit iced the puck for the second time in a row.
  • Glendening helped Mantha and Zetterberg win the draw in their own zone–because Nielsen’s skate blade became dislodged from its holder–but Carolina swiped the puck and cycled before the Wings were able to re-set, skate through center, and turn the puck over.
  • Carolina worked the boards to chip and chase, and the Wings’ defense took over, Abdelkader fed Ouellet in the slot, the puck was loose behind Darling off the Ouellet slot shot and Darling covered up reaching back in his crease.
  • At 18:01, Detroit was out-shot 10-4 and out-attempted 21-8; hits 8-7 Detroit; giveaways 5-2 Detroit, takeaways 2-1 Detroit; blocked shots 8-3 Detroit; faceoffs 9-8 Carolina (47%).
  • When play resumed, Carolina went offside and had to set up on their own goal line as they attacked offensively, and Detroit was able to repel their attack, chip, chase, and…
  • Give Carolina a 4-on-2 attack that yielded a shot that Howard stopped.
  • Bertuzzi and Nyquist swiped the puck from the Canes in the slot, but Carolina covered up for its mistake, and dumped and chased. Icing number elevendy twelve resulted at 19:14.
  • Zetterberg drew in for the offensive zone faceoff, Nyquist and Bertuzzi worked with Zetterberg to re-set at center, and Bertuzzi fed DeKeyser for another good point shot that Darling gloved.
  • Glendening drew in for a faceoff with Abdelkader and Mantha, Glendening lost the draw, and in the final seconds of the period, Detroit blocked a couple Canes shot attempts.

The 1st period in summary: The Red Wings did not start with any particular crispness, but they held on against a Hurricanes team whose offense is mostly generated by point shots, the Wings got a little lucky on their PK as Faulk’s goal was waved off, and the Wings scored on an egregious defensive mistake by the Canes’ defense.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 10-7 and out-attempted 23-11; hits 9-7 Detroit; giveaways 5-3 Detroit, takeaways 2-1 Detroit (possession changes 6-4 Carolina); blocked shots 9-3 Detroit; faceoffs 13-8 Carolina (38% for Detroit).

Individually, DeKeyser led the Wings with 3 shots; Jensen, Mantha, Bertuzzi and Ouellet had 1 shot; Tatar and Larkin had 2 hits apiece; Nyquist had 3 giveaways; Mantha and Zetterberg had takeaways; Ericsson, Ouellet and DeKeyser blocked 2 shots apiece; Glendening’s 2-and-1 (67%) led the Wings in the faceoff dot; Detroit was +5 collectively; Ericsson led the team with 8:11 played; DeKeyser played 7:48, Zetterberg 7:30, Mantha 7:29, Daley 7:28, Nyquist 6:54, Jensen 6:50.

FSD had the scoring chances at 3-2 Carolina on their 10-7 shot advantage.

The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • Zetterberg drew in vs. Lindholm for the opening faceoff, and the Canes won the draw, dumped, chased, and turned the puck over to Nick Jensen. Mantha hacked the puck to Zetterberg, he dumped, the Wings chased, and Zetterberg and Nyquist drew a call.

Zetterberg got called for hooking at 28 seconds of the second period.

  • Glendening, Larkin, Daley and Ericsson started the PK, and the Canes won the draw to Faulk, he blasted a shot in on Howard, and off a scrum, Daley cleared the puck out of the crease and down the ice.
  • Larkin and Glendening pinched, skated back to center ice, and forced Carolina offside 27 seconds into the PK.
  • Detroit lost the next faceoff at their blueline, Carolina set up, and they went offside again.
  • Nielsen, Helm, DeKeyser and Jensen fielded the Canes’ dump-in, Carolina took over, and Slavin sent a tipped shot over the goal, Carolina worked the umbrella, Howard stopped Skinner once, Skinner missed the net, Carolina cycled, Slavin pinched down low, Williams fed the puck to the line, Skinner blasted it wide, and Detroit cleared its zone, ending the PK.
  • Carolina then attacked the Wings fairly heavily, and Victor Rask got a pretty good scoring chance on Howard, but he was stopped.
  • Carolina continued to dominate possession and control of the puck, as well as territorial play, for the vast majority of the first 3:30 of the 2nd period.
  • Athanasiou did steal the puck in the Canes’ zone and send a shot wide of Darling, and he came back to help his defense clear the zone. Larkin fed Tatar and he slithered a wrister wide of Darling…
  • Carolina skated into the Wings’ zone 3-on-2, and Howard had to stop DiGiuseppe.
  • Jensen got a shot off on Darling, but it was a single, un-screened, un-pursued marker…
  • And only an offside call prevented Derek Ryan from skating into the Wings’ slot with control of the puck, having split Detroit’s defenders.
  • Zetterberg, Nyquist and Mantha fared better in the possession and control department, but Carolina inevitably skated into the Wings’ zone, and cycled the puck back to the point. Repeatedly.
  • Howard had to stop Ryan in the slot, and Mantha got high-sticked by Skinner in the corner sans penalty.
  • Ouellet’s chip-out yielded a bad fumble by van Riemsdyk, and Nyquist and Glendening forced the Canes to ice the puck…
  • But Carolina took over, chipped and chased, and Ericsson and Tatar turned the puck over at center ice.
  • Carolina chugged back in, Detroit cleared the puck down ice, and Larkin and Slavin raced down ice to snag the puck.
  • Carolina emerged victorious, Detroit iced the puck at 7:04…
  • And Mickey Redmond duly noted that the game was FULL of icings and offside calls.
  • Eventually, Carolina skated into the Wings’ zone, Lindholm centered a puck that was blocked out of the slot by DeKeyser, Slavin cycled, Jensen was pressured, and Detroit was only able to clear the puck to center ice.
  • 8 minutes into the 2nd period, Detroit chipped and changed, with Nielsen’s line taking over.
  • Carolina skated into the Wings’ zone 3-on-2, but Ouellet blocked the Canes’ net-front pass;
  • Nielsen’s stick broke, and Abdelkader was unable to clear the zone, so Howard had to make a good stop with his blocker.
  • At 8:30, Detroit was out-shot 14-9 and out-attempted 36-15; hits 12-9 Detroit; giveaways 7-4 Detroit, takeaways 3-1 Detroit; blocked shots 16-4 Detroit; faceoffs 18-11 Carolina (38%).
  • Glendening drew in for the post-TV timeout faceoff, and Carolina won the draw, cycled down low, and coughed up the puck in the slot, with Zetterberg, Nyquist and Mantha attacking for a moment.
  • Carolina returned to the familiar confines of the Wings’ defensive zone, however…
  • Zetterberg stole the puck from a Canes defender, but Darling kicked out his shot…
  • And Carolina returned to the Wings’ zone, with Howard stifling Williams with help from the goalpost…
  • All off a turnover due to a Nyquist stick that was slashed in half sans call.
  • Of course.
  • Carolina won the next faceoff, cycled to the point twice, and Abdelkader, Helm and Nielsen could not stop Pesce, but the defense blocked the shot (Kronwall did) by Pesce.
  • Carolina attacked, attacked, attacked, cycled, cycled, cycled, Detroit defended, defended, defended…
  • Tatar set up in the offensive zone with Larkin, he spun around the net and centered the puck, and Detroit mashed down, working hard to cycle deep and push the puck back to the blueline.
  • 10:10 into the 2nd period, Ericsson sent thep uck deep, Carolina re-set 3-on-3, Rask pumped the puck to the point, and Fleury’s stick broke.
  • Detroit charged up ice, and Carolina’s defense ran the net off its pegs sans call.
  • At 11:45, Detroit was out-shot 16-10 and out-attempted 42-19; hits 16-7 Detroit; giveaways 7-5 Detroit, takeaways 5-3 Carolina; blocked shots 19-4 Detroit; faceoffs 20-11 Carolina (35% for Detroit).
  • As play resumed, Larkin, Glendening, Tatar and Jensen set up, Jensen fed Tatar off the deep offensive zone faceoff win, and yet another broken stick littered Tatar’s way to the net.
  • So Jensen beat Aho to a loose puck deep in the Wings’ zone, Carolina swiped the puck…

Aho ended up hacking Jensen, Carolina took the puck and Hanafin blasted a heavy snapper over Howard’s glove and into the top shelf.

 Rask set up Hanafin at 12:18 of the 2nd, and Carolina tied the game 1-1.

  • The Red Wings won the post-goal shift faceoff…

On the post-goal shift, Lindholm went to the box at 12:29, for holding Zetterberg.

  • Detroit won the first faceoff of the power play, but Darling stopped a point shot, and Carolina won the next draw and cleared the zone.
  • So Detroit set up via the Kronwall drop pass at center ice, and Kronwall, Mantha, Zetterberg, Nyquist and Tatar worked the perimeter, pushed the puck to Kronwall a couple of times,…

and Nyquist’s shot was tipped by Zetterberg behind and over Darling, who was screened by Mantha.

 Zetterberg’s tip-in gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 13:22 from Nyquist and Kronwall.

Zetterberg’s 2-1 goal tied Ted Lindsay for 5th all-time in Wings goals with 335.

  • On the post-goal shift, Helm, Nielsen and Abdelkader struggled to keep the Canes out of the Wings’ zone…

And Abdelkader accidentally high-sticked a Hurricanes player, yielding a PK at 14:08.

  • At 14:08, shots in the 2nd were 7-5 Carolina, and 17-12 Carolina overall; attempts 43-21 Carolina; hits 17-9 Detroit; giveaways 7-5 Detroit, takeaways 3-1 Detroit; blocked shots 19-4 Detroit; faceoffs 21-16 Carolina (43%).
  • Carolina won the opening PP faceoff and nearly scored via a perimeter-working passing play, with Teravainen fanning on the shot, and Teravainen fanned on a second attempt before Carolina settled the puck down again opposite Larkin, Glendening, Ericsson and Daley.
  • Larkin blocked a shot, he worked with Glendening to push the puck into the Canes’ zone, and then Jensen set up Glendening, Nielsen went to the goal, and Jensen fired a slapper into Darling.
  • With 50 seconds remaining in the PK, Carolina skated up and through center ice via a Hanafin rush, DeKeyser and Nielsen jabbed the puck loose…

And Justin Williams high-sticked Nielsen in the face at 15:55, yielding a 2-minute penalty.

  • On the 4-on-4…

The Red Wings swiped the puck from the Canes, Athanasiou slid the puck over to Daley on the cycle, and Daley ripped a shot top shelf over Darling’s glove at 15:55.

 Daley made it 3-1 from Athanasiou at 15:55.

  • The Wings went to a power play, but Carolina took over, but Kronwall made a good block, he dropped the puck to Nyquist working with Zetterberg, and the Wings attacked the Canes’ zone, working on the power play.
  • Detroit re-entered the zone, Zetterberg slid a shot in on Darling, but was stopped, and Zetterberg and Tatar kept the puck in with dogged work…
  • Zetterberg fed Nyquist, he reversed to Zetterberg and he was stick-checked, affording the Canes a clear…
  • And that was the 1:10 power play.
  • As the PP expired, Athanasiou, Larkin and Abdelkader worked together, they rushed up ice 3-on-2, and Darling stifled Larkin with 1:45 remaining in the 2nd.
  • The Hurricanes cleared their zone, but Nielsen, Glendening and Helm worked the puck into the Canes’ zone, Ericsson drop-passed the puck, Detroit re-set at center, and Helm worked to push the puck deep, Zetterberg made two steals, Nyquist found Bertuzzi and he BLASTED a shot wide of Darling.
  • Carolina took over in the final seconds of the 2nd period, but the Wings blocked the Canes’ centering passes, and Detroit dumped the puck down ice to end the period.

The 2nd period in summary: The Red Wings came alive in the 2nd period. While Carolina tied the game at 2 some 12:18 into the 2nd period, Detroit ROARED to life over the final 8 minutes of the period, scoring 2 goals, including a PP marker, and Detroit ultimately out-shot Carolina 10-7 as the Wings FINALLY engaged, out-skating, out-working and out-puck-possessing the Hurricanes, who did not give Detroit more than the inch necessary to make it 3-1.

Statistically, Detroit out-shot Carolina 10-7 in the 2nd, so the shots were 17-17 overall. Attempts were 47-28 Carolina; hits 17-9 Detroit; giveaways 7-6 Detroit, takeaways 4-1 Detroit (possession changes 10-8 Detroit); blocked shots a staggering 23-6 Detroit; faceoffs 24-17 Carolina (41% for Detroit).

Individually, Zetterberg led the Wings with 4 shots; Jensen and DeKeyser had 3 shots apiece; Bertuzzi had 2 shots; Nyquist, Mantha, Ouellet, Larkin and Daley had 1 shot; Tatar, Glendening, Ericsson and Larkin had 2 hits apiece; Nyquist had 3 giveaways; Mantha, Zetterberg, Larkin and Athanasiou had takeaways; DeKeyser had blocked 6 shots, Ericsson 3, Ouellet 3, Abdelkader, Kronwall and Larkin 2; Glendening led the Wings in the faceoff circle at 3-and-2 (60%); the Wings were +4; DeKeyser led the Wings with 15:56 of ice time; Zetterberg played 15;26; Jensen played 15:04, Daley 14:42, Ericsson 14:26, Nyquist 14:07, Mantha 11:40, Larkin 10:54, Kronwall 10:16.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • The Red Wings drew in for the opening faceoff in the 3rd, with Zetterberg winning the draw against Lindholm. Detroit made its way to the Canes’ blueline, they were stopped, and Carolina skated into the Wings’ zone.
  • Jensen took the puck, he flipped it to Mantha, who could not beat the Canes’ defender, but Nyquist did, and centered the puck to Mantha, who was tripped.
  • No call, Canes clear, Wings and Canes change 45 seconds into the 3rd.
  • Carolina chipped and chased, but the Wings were doing a better job of swiping the puck from Canes forwards via stick checks and blocking passes.
  • Still, the Canes raced into the Wings’ zone 3-on-2 at 1:25, and Detroit had to block off the Canes’ attempt.
  • Both teams changed at 1:35, and Skinner fired a shot off Ouellet…

But Detroit was called for high-sticking, with Larkin heading to the box for sticking Skinner at 1:43.

  • Carolina won the draw, Justin Williams blasted a shot high and wide of the goal, and Detroit ground out the puck down low, with Glendening, Abdelkader, Jensen and Kronwall working together as the Canes cycled.
  • Howard made a good stop, Glendening swiped the puck and fed Abdelkader, who skated behind the Canes’ net and ate the puck to kill some clock.
  • Carolina set up with 1 minute remaining in the PP, and Carolina chipped and chased, Daley and Ericsson forced Lindholm to fire wide of the net from only 10 feet out, and Howard made a good stop on a Faulk shot.
  • With 30 remaining in the PP, Carolina worked the perimeter, played the puck down low, Aho, Faulk and Teravainen played catch, and Daley blocked a heavy shot by Aho.
  • That was the PK.
  • Detroit continued to block shots, and Carolina missed the net, so Daley raced to center, blasted a shot in on Darling, and the Canes’ goalie smartly punched the puck out of play.
  • Tatar, Athanasiou and Larkin drew in for the offensive zone draw, they lost it, and Carolina skated up 3-on-2…missed the net…
  • And Tatar and Larkin generated a Canes penalty.

Joakim Nordstrom held up Athanasiou so he could not join the Wings’ 2-man rush. Nordstrom sat at 4:22.

  • Detroit won the opening faceoff but lost control of the puck, so the Canes cleared, Kronwall fed Tatar at center, Detroit swung the puck around the side boards and the Canes cleared…
  • Detroit raced up with Nyquist and Tatar going side to side, Zetterberg and Nyquist fed Tatar left wing half boards, Mantha helped, hacking the puck deep, and the Wings hugged the wall.
  • Daley pulled the puck to the slot, Tatar got a shot that was stopped by Darling, and Tatar swiped a Canes clear, as did Zetterberg and Mantha.
  • To the slot the puck went, with Nyquist feeding Tatar for a STELLAR try that was stopped by Darling…
  • Mantha clanged the puck off the POST on a 2-rebound try…
  • The Canes then skated in 2-on-2, and Howard made a good glove stop with the power play expired.
  • A TV timeout hit with 13:33 remaining/at 6:28, and Detroit was out-shooting Carolina 4-2 in the 2nd and 21-19 overall; attempts 54-35 Carolina; hits 17-11 Detroit; giveaways 7-6 Detroit, takeaways 4-1 Detroit; blocked shots a stunning 26-7 Detroit; faceoffs 25-20 Carolina (44%).
  • Detroit battled the puck loose on a defensive zone faceoff draw as play resumed…
  • And the Wings iced the puck.
  • The Wings lost another defensive zone draw and after a couple of blocked shots, Howard made a tremendous stop on Lindholm.
  • Carolina continued to press some 7 minutes into the 3rd.
  • Lots of lateral passes and to-the-point pushes yielded a blocker stop by Howard and a rush in which Larkin was hacked down, but called offside.
  • Zetterberg lost the draw at the Canes’ line, and Carolina tried to chug into the Wings’ zone, but went offside.
  • The intentional offside yielded a faceoff deep in Carolina’s zone at 7:35, but the Canes won the draw, could not clear the zone, and Nyquist chipped a slot shot just over Darling’s net.
  • Detroit seemed to be taking over 8 minutes into the 3rd…
  • Zetterberg’s line changed, and Athanasiou, Tatar and Larkin returned to the ice, chased the Canes around the ice ,and gave the puck to the Canes.
  • Trevor van Riemsdyk made a great rush and flipped a puck off Howard, but the Canes could not capitalize on the chance;
  • Athanasiou skated the other way and nearly one-timed a shot in the net, but his shot was blocked;
  • Carolina and Detroit went back and forth for a couple of minutes, with both teams skating very hard and executing at a high level.
  • Detroit was doing its best to grind the Canes down, with Helm, Abdelkader and Nielsen cycling and chugging through the middle…
  • Carolina iced the puck with 9:52 remaining, but they won their defensive zone draw–dominating draws…
  • So Detroit had to swipe the puck via turnovers. Mantha put a puck off the side of the net, Zetterberg and Nyquist’s shots were blocked, and the Wings got an icing call to go their way at 10:41.
  • Carolina won another draw, and the Wings did a good job of standing up to stifle Carolina’s speed, with Darling coughing up the puck to Larkin trying to clear the zone himself.
  • Carolina ultimately skated up and into the Wings’ zone of their own accord, Howard stopped a puck, Jensen cleared the zone, and Detroit iced the puck with 8:25 remaining.
  • The Wings won their draw, and they withstood some crashing and banging from the Hurricanes en route to a dump and change.
  • A TV timeout hit at 12:03, and: Detroit was out-shot 6-5 in the 3rd and 23-22 overall; attempts 59-40 Carolina; hits 19-11 Detroit; giveaways 10-8 Detroit, takeaways 4-1 Detroit; blocked shots 27-9 Detroit; faceoffs 29-24 Carolina (45%).
  • Abdelkader, Helm and Nielsen came out for the post-TV timeout faceoff, and they won the draw, worked the puck into the Canes’ zone, and Helm accidentally put the puck back out to center off a Canes stick, ultimately resulting in an offside call against Detroit.
  • Zetterberg drew in at center ice, won the draw, and the Wings flipped it out of play.
  • Detroit won their next draw, and Glendening and Nyquist helped Zetterberg work the puck in deep, cycle, grind it out down low…
  • And a hand pass negated a fine deep zone cycle for a Red Wings team that was trying to eat some clock and “kill” the game.
  • With under 7 minutes remaining in regulation, Larkin, Tatar and Athanasiou worked the puck deep, and Jensen pinched to hold the puck in deep, resulting in a Canes rush.
  • Detroit then iced the puck, Nielsen lost the draw and Howard watched a Faulk shot get deflected just wide of the goal.
  • Carolina was pushing the gas pedal down, and they began to dominate possession and control of the puck.
  • So Zetterberg took a DeKeyser pass, and flipped it into Darling’s glove, triggering a TV timeout. Smart play.
  • When play resumed, the Wings disrupted the heck out of the Hurricanes’ plays, with Howard making two MASSIVE stops and as Carolina pushed the puck into the Wings’ zone.
  • Howard then stopped a Pesce shot, Carolina tried to cycle to the point opposite the Zetterberg line, and DeKeyser and Zetterberg iced the puck.
  • With 4:02 remaining, the Red Wings lost their deep defensive zone faceoff, cleared the puck twice, and iced it again with 3:42 left.
  • Howard made a stop on the Canes’ rush, Detroit won the deep zone faceoff, and Carolina cycled, pushed the puck into the slot, Howard made a stop, and Detroit iced the puck.
  • Again. According to Ken Daniels, it was the 11th icing call against Detroit.
  • Detroit banged the puck off the boards and down the ice, and this time, Glendening out-raced his opponents to the icing call, negating it. Detroit ground out the puck a bit with 3 minutes remaining in regulation, and Carolina went offside with 2:44 remaining.
  • Detroit won the next draw, and Zetterberg, Nyquist and Helm helped Kronwall and Dekeyser jab and jab and ultimately help Howard not make a stop.
  • Icing #12 hit with 1:51 remaining in regulation.
  • The Canes won the draw, Williams cycled the puck back to Hanafin, and the puck went out to center ice, so the Canes flipped and chased.
  • Ericsson, Abdelkader, DeKeyser, Zetterberg and Glendening bore down, Glendening chipped the puck wide of an empty net, and the Canes raced back up and into the Wings’ zone.
  • Howard made a good stop, Abdelkader and Nielsen cleared the zone, and Detroit and Carolina both changed personnel.
  • Abdelkader got tripped with 48.4 left in regulation, and that penalty more or less killed the Canes’ comeback.

Ryan sat for tripping at 19:12.

  • Zetterberg, Larkin, Daley, DeKeyser and Helm set up in the offensive zone, they won the draw to Daley and DeKeyser, and when the Canes flipped the puck down ice, Howard helped the Wings work the puck out to center.
  • Zetterberg cycled, DeKeyser held the puck in for a moment, Detroit just ragged the puck back into their zone and ate the clock.
  • Detroit won 3-1.

The 3rd period in summary: The Red Wings simply out-ground and out-worked the Hurricanes as Carolina tried their damnedest to rally, out-shooting Detroit 12-5 in the 3rd. The Wings blocked a total of THIRTY-ONE shot attempts, and that’s damn impressive. Their goalie was pretty good, too.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

The shot attempts were 70-43 Carolina, but Detroit blocked 31 Hurricanes shots, holding Carolina to 29 attempts on Howard and 41 wide/blocked.

Published by

George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!