Red Wings-Golden Knights quick take: not a disgrace…but not by much

The Detroit Red Wings hoped to upon the Vegas Golden Knights’ injury-induced losses of late, with Detroit looking to snap a 3-game winless streak in the process.

The Red Wings did not play a farce of a game, they did not respect the logo on the front of the jerseys or the names on the back, but they got very close to doing so over the course of a 4-0 loss to Vegas that was nothing less than embarrassing, humbling and humiliating. I’ll leave the rest of the critiques to you.

The Golden Knights’ lineup was known prior to game time, per NHL.com’s Dave Hogg:

Jonathan Marchessault — William Karlsson — Tomas Tatar

David Perron — Erik Haula — Tomas Hyka

Ryan Carpenter — Cody Eakin — Alex Tuch

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Tomas Nosek — Ryan Reaves

Brayden McNabb — Nate Schmidt

Shea Theodore — Deryk Engelland

Jon Merrill — Colin Miller

Marc-Andre Fleury

Maxime Lagace

The Red Wings also posted a likely Wings lineup:

Vegas started Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson at forward Deryk Engelland and Shea Theodore on defense and Marc-Andre Fleury in goal;

Detroit started Justin Abdelkader, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha at forward, with Danny DeKeyser and Nick Jensen on defense and Jimmy Howard in goal.

Garret Rank and Francis Charron refereed the game, with Scott Driscoll and Andrew Smith working the lines.

The 1st period

1st period observations:

  • Larkin drew in for the opening faceoff opposite Karlsson and the Knights won the draw, chipped and iced the puck off the draw, all of 5 seconds into the 1st.
  • Larkin drew in for the next draw in the Vegas zone opposite Karlsson, Larkin was tossed from the draw, and Abdelkader took the faceoff, losing it and Vegas slid the puck around to Tatar, Engelland cleared and Marchessault chipped for the Knights to chase. Howard flipped the puck around the side boards and he was stopped by Engelland, Vegas worked the puck down low, and DeKeyser reverse-passed the puck to Mantha as the Wings changed 45 seconds into the 1st.
  • Nyquist and Zetterberg joined Mantha to muck and grind the puck in the Vegas zone, but Perron skated out of trouble, fed Haula, and Perron danced out front and got the Knights’ first shot 1:13 into the 1st. Howard pulled off the right goalpost and stopped the shot center chest.
  • Glendening lost the faceoff in the defensive zone, and Howard stopped both the Vegas defenseman and Perron on the rebound…
  • Off the left dot faceoff, Howard made another glove stop…
  • And Detroit struggled to clear its own zone some 1:40 into the 1st, with Vegas chipping the puck out to center and then into the Wings’ zone, where Detroit re-set.
  • Glendening chipped so the Wings could change, and Svechnikov, Frk and Athanasiou surrendered a 2-on-1…

And Niklas Kronwall could not stick check Alex Tuch, Daley slid to block the shot and Tuch chipped the puck off Howard’s pad and in.

 Tuch made it 1-0 at 2:24 on an unassisted tally.

  • Off the post-goal faceoff, Gustav Nyquist and Tyler Bertuzzi raced toward Fleury, Nyquist was stopped…

And Colin Miller sat for holding at 2:43.

  • The Golden Knights won the next draw, and Detroit set up in their own zone, with Nyquist sliding the puck across to Athanasiou, Nyquist bouncing a puck off Abdelkader and Zetterberg setting up with Kronwall. Kronwall’s slapper went off Abdelkader, Nyquist jammed to keep the puck in and he could not, so the Golden Knights cleared the zone.
  • With 1:04 remaining in the PP, Daley fed Frk right wing side, he cycled to Bertuzzi left wing side, the Wings went back to the right point for Mantha, Daley fired a shot wide of the net, and Bertuzzi and Larkin tried to feed Frk, but could not, so William Karlsson fed the puck out front, and Mantha stopped him.
  • Detroit charged into the Vegas zone, they missed the exchange, and instead, Carpenter and Haula charged into the Wings’ zone 2-on-1, and Haula flubbed the pass.
  • Detroit played catch as the 5-minute mark passed and the defensemen slid the puck up for a chip and chase, with Svechnikov jamming the puck into Fleury, who was spun around but stopped the puck.
  • DeKeyser and Jensen worked the puck out to center, Zetterberg and Nyquist, who was hit late by McNabb, chipped the puck into the Vegas zone, and the Golden Knights iced it at 5:43.
  • Detroit won the next faceoff deep in Vegas’ zone, the Wings could not retain puck possession, and Detroit just look,ed sort of fuzzy.
  • Mantha took a shift with Zetterberg and Bertuzzi, and Bertuzzi took a shot that went off the crossbar on a one-timer from Zetterberg.
  • Some 6:45 into the 1st, the Wings tried very hard to penetrate the Vegas zone via a “cheat” pass deep, but Svechnikov skated through the blueline early and went offside, and the first TV timeout rolled.
  • At 6:45 of the 1st, Detroit was out-shot 4-3 and out-attempted 6-4; hits 4-0 Vegas; giveaways 3-1 Detroit; takeaways 1-0 Vegas; blocked shots 1-0 Detroit; faceoffs 6-2 Vegas (25%).
  • When play resumed, the Golden Knights chipped the puck into the Wings’ zone, and Tomas Nosek skated out front and jammed a puck off Howard.
  • Detroit recovered, skated out of trouble and into theVegas zone, where Abdelkader, Athanasiou and Svechnikov had a short shift together.
  • Detroit re-set, sent outlet passes to center and then into the offensie zone, and Mantha, Frk and Larkin ground the puck out down low, Mantha fed Frk and he blasted a one-timer wide of the net. Jensen pinched to send a shot in on Fleury, Vegas iced the puck, and Detroit trailed in shots 6-4 with 11:48 remaining in the 1st.
  • Detroit tried to jam Fleury off the faceoff, and Nyquist returned to the ice after getting shaken up by Engelland, he found the slot wide open on a one-timer from Zetterberg, and Fleury made a big stop.
  • Nyquist got dinged after the play, and he walked off the ice and into the trainer’s room after the second hit, too.
  • Helm, Glendening and Witkowski managed to get a Helm shot off the goalpost, but Vegas chugged up the other way, Haula, Perron and Hyka cycled, and Howard had to stop a point shot and Glendening, Witkowski and Helm somewhat desperately cleared the zone.
  • In a scrambly first period, Larkin, Mantha and Frk were something of a fixture, and the getns cycled surrendered a rush to Vegas, and Tatar was tenacious down low, but the Wings were able to clear as Larkin took a stick off the bench after breaking his own behind the Wings’ net.
  • Athanasiou was hit hard at center ice as Vegas’ defense stood up and stood up hard…
  • At 10:50, Athanasiou, Abdelkader and Svechnikov tried to set up a forecheck, but the Golden Knights chipped the puck into the Wings’ zone instead, and Howard had to stop Hunt with the blocker and then Eakin with his catch glove.
  • Vegas had a rapid-fire offense and a tough, physical defense, and the combination was not helping Detroit.
  • Nyquist returned to the game with 8:15 remaining, and he worked the puck in deep with Jensen, Bertuzzi re-set at center, and Vegas took over.
  • Detroit’s Bertuzzi managed to set up Witkowski for a nice rush, but he was stopped by McNabb, and Witkowski fed Glendening for a good scoring chance that Fleury stopped.
  • At 13:29, Vegas led 8-7 in shots, but attempts were 12-10 Detroit; hits 5-3 Vegas; giveaways 3-2 Detroit; takeaways 2-0 Vegas; blocked shots 1-1; faceoffs 7-4 Vegas (36%).
  • Detroit set up and lost the offensive zone draw as play resumed, the Wings re-set, and Bertuzzi, Zetterberg and Nyquist jammed the puck out down low, Zetterberg centered the puck off Engelland and Bertuzzi mucked, Zetterberg was pushed off the puck by Theodore, and Green head-manned a rush.
  • Larkin hopped over the boards and flipped a short little shot-pass in on net, Frk fanned on it and Daley was about to put the rebound into an empty net, but William Karlsson blocked Daley’s shot out of play.
  • With 5:55 remaining, Svechnikov, Larkin and Mantha worked the puck in deep on the line change, but the Golden Knights swiped the puck and skated out of their own zone, and Detroit took a penalty.

Svechnikov sat for holding at 14:27.

  • At 14:27, Detroit out-shot Vegas 9-8 and out-attempted them 16-10; hits 5-1 Vegas; giveaways 3-2 Detroit; takeaways 2-0 Vegas; blocked shots 3-1 Vegas; faceoffs 8-5 Vegas (38%).
  • The Red Wings embarked upon their PK with a faceoff loss and their defense under siege as Glendening, DeKeyser, Daley and Helm watched Vegas cycle along the perimeter, work a lateral seam pass down low, and Daley backhanded a shot wide.
  • Vegas changed with 1:05 remaining in their PP, but Detroit disrupted the Golden Knights’ set-up.
  • Vegas re-set with 49 left in the PP, Abdelkader and Ericsson stood up, and Tuch charged in, sent a shot wide, and Tatar and karlsson battled the puk to the point, where Howard was beaten by Theodore, who hit the goalpost.
  • Detroit cleared the zone, with Jensen dumping the puck away from trouble, and as the PK expired, Reaves worked the puck out front, Howard stopped a Golden Knight with Bellemare draped all over him, and Zetterberg, Svechnikov and Nyquist round the puck out down low, tried to cycle, and Nyquist sent a blind slot pass onto a Vegas stick.
  • With 2:45 remaining in the 1st, Zetterberg fed Kronwall, he sent a slapper wide, and Tuch charged into the Wings’ zone, Detroit re-set and Bertuzzi fed Nyquist, who could not feed a pinching Mike Green.
  • Detroit ended up grinding along their own half-boards, clearing the zone, and changing with some desperation.
  • Detroit chipped and chased as Larkin, Frk and Mantha worked together, but Vegas controlled the puck, and Haula got a great chance off that Howard had to stop with his blocker, from the left faceoff circle.
  • The Golden Knights’ defense got a little turnover-happy vs. Mantha and Frk, but nothing came of it.
  • With a minute left in the 1st period, Tatar jammed vs. Zetterberg in the Wings’ slot, Detroit pushed the puck up ice, and Zetterberg nearly set up Athanasiou, but Tatar stifled the middle lane drive.
  • Nyquist stole the puck off a Golden Knights change, too, but Tatar came back to block off Nyquist’s path to the net.
  • Detroit managed to muck and grind a puck out front via Zetterberg and Bertuzzi to Nyquist, but that was stifled as well, and the period ended with Detroit buzzing in the Vegas zone.

The 1st period in summary: The Red Wings seemed to struggle with the concept that the Vegas Golden Knights are much better than the team the Wings blew out earlier this season, and during their adjustment period, Alex Tuch walked in and fired a skates-still-moving shot through Howard. Detroit did rebound and respond quite well, but they were in for a firefight with a superbly-talented Vegas team.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 11-9, but Detroit out-attempted Vegas 17-15; hits 7-3 Vegas; giveaways 5-3 Detroit, takeaways 2-0 Vegas (possession changes 7-3 Vegas); blocked shots 4-1 Vegas; faceoffs 8-6 Vegas (43% for Detroit).

Individually, Jensen led the Wings with 3 shots, and Nyquist had 2; Glendening, DeKeyser and Larkin had hits; Jensen, Nyquist, Glendening, Frk and Kronwall all had 1 giveaways; Daley blocked a shot; Zetterberg’s 3-and-2 (60%) faceoff record led the team, which was -5; DeKeyser led the team with 8:10 played; Mantha and Daley played 7:16; Jensen played 7:14, Zetterberg 7:02, Kronwall 6:25, Larkin 6:17, Bertuzzi 6:05.

The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • Larkin drew in for the opening faceoff and lost it, but the Red Wings did a good job of defending the Golden Knights’ top line, and Anthony Mantha raced into the Knights’ zone and fired a snap shot just wide of Fleury;
  • Detroit changed some 48 seconds into the 1st and dumped the puck out of trouble, and Vegas managed to go offside as they counter-attacked, yielding a faceoff at Detroit’s line which the Red Wings won and forced Vegas offside a second time.
  • Vegas sprung Haula and Perron on a 2-on-1, and Howard made a good blocker stop, but Howard left the puck in play, Hyka got a shot off that Howard stopped, Haula got a shot off that Howard stopped, and Tomas Hyka drew a penalty on Niklas Kronwall.

Kronwall sat for high-sticking at 1:45.

  • Larkin, Abdelkader, Ericsson and Daley set up on the PK, lost the opening draw, and ultimately skated into the Vegas zone, where Abdelkader fired a shot wide of the Vegas net, and on the counter-attack, Vegas went offside again.
  • Detroit lost the blueline draw and Vegas chipped and chased, overloading the area behind the net to force a turnover which Marchessault fired off Howard. Vegas controlled the rebound, and Howard had to make another stop;
  • Daley, Ericsson, Glendening and Helm then battled the puck away from the Golden Knights, and Helm fell as he tried to reach for a breakaway pass.
  • Vegas surrendered the puck to Larkin out of the corner behind their net, and Larkin drove to the net and jammed a puck in on Fleury;
  • Detroit continued to change their PK unit, and as Vegas entered the Wings’ zone, Jensen was tripped sans penalty, but Detroit was able to clear the zone and kill the penalty.
  • 3:57 into the 2nd, the Red Wings had killed a penalty and looked far more opportunistic.
  • Detroit won a pair of faceoffs at their blueline, in which Vegas went offside and then Athanasiou, Bertuzzi and Svechnikov sent a shot attempt wide of Fleury;
  • Green tried to feed Wings players on the transition game twice, but he was unable to do so;
  • Zetterberg, Mantha and Nyquist came over the boards, Green fed Nyquist, and he skated into the Vegas zone, bumbled the puck, Zetterberg fed it back out front, and Nosek stifled the Wings’ attempts to send the puck in on goal by skating the puck out of trouble.
  • Vegas won the ensuing faceoff, and Howard had to make yet another big stop before Witkowski, Glendening and Helm cleared the zone once, surrendered a Vegas rush, and then charged through center ice, with Helm sweeping and spinning back twice vs. Tatar and Miller. Glendening did the same, but the Golden Knights cleared the zone…
  • And Detroit set up in the offensive zone, with Larkin sending one shot on Fleury through traffic and a second wide of the net.
  • Vegas chugged into the Wings’ zone, Howard had to stop a deflected shot at 7:52, and Kronwall and Green sent the puck up ice once and then twice.
  • Bertuzzi rejoined the Zetterberg line 7-and-a-half minutes into the 2nd, Zetterberg fed a puck behind Nyquist, and Engelland iced the puck.
  • Detroit won the deep offensive zone faceoff and Athanasiou, Abdelkader and Svechnikov sort of fumbled the puck, affording Vegas an easy clear, but the Wings returned to the offensive zone, Jensen slid a sneaky shot in on Fleury, and Svechnikov got a stick blade to the mid-section for trying to free up the rebound.
  • At 8:10, Vegas out-shot Detroit 6-2 in the 2nd and 17-12 overall; attempts 27-24 Vegas; hits 9-7 Vegas; giveaways 6-3 Detroit, takeaways 2-1 Vegas; blocked shots 5-4 Detroit; faceoffs 12-11 Vegas (48%).
  • When play resumed, the Red Wings won a deep offensive zone draw, but surrendered a rush against that Ericsson and Daley were able to parry away.
  • Vegas charged up ice on another rush, and Engelland fired a sneaky shot just wide of Howard’s glove.
  • Green turned the puck over to Haula, Tatar tried to wrap around on Howard, but could not…
  • The Wings charged up in on Fleury via a Nyquist shot that was stopped, Bertuzzi came back to help check, and Green fed Zetterberg…

Detroit earned a power play as Tomas Tatar interfered with Niklas Kronwall at 9:39.

  • The Wings lost the deep offensive zone draw, Green and Larkin fed the puck up ice, Larkin got a pass from Frk at the blueline and shot the puck in on Fleury, and he was stopped.
  • Bellemare managed to take the puck from 4 Wings in the defensive zone and burn some clock, so, with 1:10 left in the Pp, Mantha skated through center, he surrendered the puck…

And as Mike Green went off on a line change, Eakin and Karlsson raced up 2-on-0, with Eakin scoring a gorgeous goal on Howard, over the pad, under the blocker.

 Eakin made it 2-0 shorthanded at 10:40.

  • Detroit managed to set up in the offensive zone, Athanasiou got a good chance, and Vegas cleared, killing off the penalty.
  • Vegas also set up Tatar for a slap shot chance that Howard had to stop.
  • Detroit iced the puck on the exchange, but Fleury came out to play the puck, affording Detroit’s Witkowski the ability to come back and check Perron…and the Glendening line went offside.
  • At 12:19, Detroit was out-shot 9-7 in the 2nd and 20-16 overall; attempts 31-29 Vegas; hits 9-8 Vegas; giveaways 7-3 Detroit, takeaways 3-2 Vegas; blocked shots 5-4 Detroit; faceoffs 14-12 (46%) Vegas.
  • When play resumed, Vegas won the blueline draw, dumped and chased, and the puck bounced out of play off a Golden Knight.
  • Helm lost the defensive zone draw and the Golden Knights got a shot off, which Howard had to stop, and that made 20 for Vegas in just over 23 minutes of play.
  • Glendening, Witkowski and Helm actually generated a solid offensive rush before Vegas iced the puck sans an icing call, and Green and Kronwall skated up and into the Vegas zone, Larkin and Abdelkader swatted at the puck…
  • And the Wings just looked like they were kind of disinterested, which is distressing.
  • Detroit battled its way into the Vegas zone, and Jensen skated in deep but whiffed on a wonderful slot opportunity…
  • Mantha bumped McNabb hard, Detroit ground the puck up down low, and eventually, Vegas capitalized on the Wings’ pinching by racing away 2-on-1.
  • Jensen stifled that 2-on-1, and Vegas re-entered the zone offside.
  • At 14:48, Detroit was out-shot 9-8 in the 2nd and 20-17 overall; attempts 32-28 Vegas; hits 11-10 Vegas; giveaways 7-3 Detroit; takeaways 3-2 Vegas; blocked shots 6-4 Detroit; faceoffs 16-12 Vegas (43%).
  • When play resumed, Detroit battled the puck deep, and Helm, Witkowski and Glendening of all people nearly scored once, twice, and three times as Helm and Glendening jammed pucks in on Fleury, who made some massive stops.
  • Detroit changed lines, Daley put a puck off Fleury’s toe, and the puck went out off the netting…
  • With 4:03 remaining in the 2nd, Zetterberg, Nyquist and Bertuzzi cycled down low off the faceoff win, Kronwall held the puk in, and Green pushed Perron back into his own zone…
  • But Haula skated into the Wings’ zone, Detroit swiped the puck, Green fed the puck deep, and ultimately, the Golden Knights cleared the puck and Detroit had to re-set with 3:08 left.
  • Daley, Larkin, Svechnikov, Mantha and Ericsson cycled, Vegas cleared the zone, Svechnikov got hooked sans call, and Svechnikov and Reaves traded hits.
  • Vegas charged into the slot…

And off a tremendous set of cycling plays, Nosek sent the puck around to Eakin, Eakin got away from Mantha and he flicked a puck blocker side on Howard.

 Eakin made it 3-0 at 17:48. Nosek and Hunt got the assists.

  • The Wings just chased the puck carrier and otherwise stood around as the goal occurred. That was very bad. Howard got beat blocker side again, too.

As the 2nd period wound down, Vegas pushed the puck in deep, DeKeyser and Athanasiou got beat in the corner, Jensen got beat out front, and with Carpenter standing in front of Howard, Tuch slid his 2nd goal through a screen.

 Tuch scored the 4-0 goal from Eakin at 18:38.

  • Worse, on the post-goal shift…

Luke Witkowski sat for interference, at 19:00.

  • Larkin drew in for a defensive zone draw and the Golden Knights won it, cycled, Tatar fed Theodore, Marchessault was stopped, Larkin and Abdelkader cleared the zone, and Vegas’ Tuch set up Theodore, he raced into the Wings’ zone, and Ericsson and Daley coughed up the puck, yielding Tuch getting a shot off.
  • The 2nd period ended with the Wings scrambling in their own zone on the PK.

The 2nd period in summary: the Red Wings played a strong first 10 minutes of play, they gave up a stupid shorthanded goal, and then the Wings started playing disinterested, detached hockey, and Vegas just pounced with 2 goals in 2:10. Howard was not having his best game, but the terrible defensive mistakes and turnovers were embarrassing.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 14-12 in the 2nd and 25-21 overall. Vegas was 0-for-3 on the PP but had a shorthanded goal.

Detroit was out-attempted an uncomfortable 40-37; hits 13-13; giveaways 8-4 Detroit, takeaways 4-3 Detroit (possession changes 11-8 Vegas); blocked shots 8-5 Detroit; faceoffs 20-14 Vegas (41% for Detroit).

Individually, Jensen led the Wings with 5 shots; Nyquist, Helm and Larkin had 3 shots; Jensen, Mantha, Glendening, Bertuzzi and Larkin had 2 hits; 8 different players had giveaways; 4 different players had takeaways; Ericsson and Daley blocked 2 shots; Zetterberg’s 6-and-3 (67%) led the team in faceoffs; Detroit was -20, with Frk at -3 and Mantha, Kronwall, Larkin, Athanasiou, Svechnikov and Daley at -2; DeKeyser played 14:45, Jensen 13:52, Zetterberg 13:38, Larkin 13:32, Mantha 13:14, Daley 12:42, Ericsson 11:17, Bertuzzi 11:10.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • Haula drew in vs. Glendening for the 3rd period’s initial faceoff, and the Wings drew in on the PK for 1 more minute.
  • Vegas won the draw and Vegas chipped the puck in offside…
  • Vegas set up and skated to center ice, dropped the puc to the defense and cycled in Detroit’s zone, with Haula, Perron and Miller cycling to Perron, who was stopped by Howard;
  • Ericsson, Daley, Helm and Glendening were able to clear the zone with 7 seconds left in the PK, Tatar charged into the Wings’ zone, cycled with Nosek, and Larkin poked the puck to Abdelkader, who was hit in the Vegas zone.
  • Tatar worked the puck in with Karlsson and fired a hard shot on Howard, who had to stifle the rebound
  • Zetterberg, Nyquist and Bertuzzi took to the ice, skated up with Green hemming the rush, but the Wings still managed to ice the puck, and with 1:39 gone in the 3rd, Zetterberg won the deep defensive zone faceoff, but the Wings iced the puck again.
  • Vegas won the next draw, and Howard had to stop Engelland.
  • Detroit managed to go offside and have to tag up, Vegas iced the puck…
  • And the 3rd period looked like it was going to be damn chippy.
  • So Vegas chipped and chased, Detroit sent the puck deep, Athanasiou forced a turnover but Svechnikov was dumped, and Frk and company re-set, skated into the offensive zone, and Larkin lost the puck.
  • 3 minutes into the 3rd, Howard had to stop a point shot off a Wings turnover, Jensen got chased out of the pocket behind the net, and Detroit managed to get a rare shot on Fleury, but the Wings spent most of the first four minutes of the 3rd on the run.
  • Glendening skated in deep, battled the puck to Helm, they cycled, and Jensen chipped the puck to Athanasiou, with the Golden Knights clearing the zone with ease.
  • Fleury came out of the net to negate an icing, as did Howard at the other end, and Vegas won a deep offensive zone draw off a faceoff that resulted from a puck into the bench, with Detroit turning the puck over to Perron and Bertuzzi, Nyquist and Zetterberg struggling alongside Ericsson and Daley as the Golden Knights cycled, worked the puck to their defense, and generally looked like they were on a power play.
  • Zetterberg stole a puck and skated in deep, reversed, and fed Abdelkader, who was STONED by Fleury. Jensen was stopped as well.

Tomas Tatar got a penalty on the exchange, sitting for hooking at 5:52.

  • Detroit won the deep offensive zone draw, Green was blocked off, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Mantha and and Frk worked the puck to Larkin, he was stopped, and Larkin blasted a heavy slapper into 3 diving Golden Knights.
  • Mantha fed Bertuzzi, Frk backed up, Bertuzzi skated down low and fed the point, Green set up Larkin and his one-timer went high and wide.
  • Detroit re-set at center, Mantha battled Karlsson and ultimately the Golden Knights cleared the zone, so Detroit changed PP units with about 30 seconds remaining.
  • Nyquist skated in on the Kronwall drop, but the Golden Knights took the puck from the Wings, skated into Detroit’s zone, and with the power play expiring, Detroit took over, and Nyquist, Athanasiou and Abdelkader worked the puck to Zetterberg, he put the puck off a Vegas player, and Detroit cycled well, but Fleury stopped play.
  • At 7:45, Detroit and Vegas were tied 4-4 in shots in the 3rd, 29-25 Vegas overall. Attempts 48-46 Vegas; hits 17-13 Detroit; giveaways 8-5 Detroit, takeaways 5-4 Detroit; blocked shots 10-7 Detroit; faceoffs 25-17 Vegas (40%).
  • When play resumed, Detroit had perked up some, and Helm, Glendening and Witkowski actually had a fairly good shift, battling the Golden Knights in their own zone and sending some hits on the Vegas defenders.
  • On the next shift, Daley and Ericsson helped Larkin facilitate a good transition, but the Golden Knights’ Engelland cleared the puck easily, and when Mantha threatened, Fleury made an easy stop some 9:34 into the period.
  • Zetterberg drew in for the next faceoff, he lost it, and Vegas’ Tatar flipped the puck in deep for Marchessault and Karlsson, who helped Tatar cycle back to the defense. Bertuzzi and Nyquist worked the puck into the Vegas zone, but they blocked off the Wings and iced the puck.
  • The Red Wings iced a line of Frk, Athanasiou and Abdelkader as the 10-minute mark passed, and they spent most of the time watching Vegas do its thing.
  • So Ryan Reaves and company hopped over the boards vs. Glendening, Witkowski and Helm set up, Witkowski actually got a very good chance on Fleury, and when Vegas returned to the Red Wings’ zone, Ericsson and Daley helped the trio skate up ice, Helm circled the goal, and lost the puck on a wraparound attempt on Fleury.
  • Larkin, Mantha and Svechnikov had a so-so shift, nearly watching Eakin send a hat trick marker in on Howard, but Larkin made a big block in the Wings’ slot, and when Tatar’s line took to the ice, Bertuzzi helped Larkin and Mantha hang on.
  • At 14:05, Detroit and Vegas were tied 5-5 in shots in the 3rd, 30-26 Vegas overall; attempts 49-46 Vegas; hits 18-15 Detroit; giveaways 11-6 Detroit; takeaways 6-4 Vegas; blocked shots 10-7 Detroit; faceoffs 26-19 Vegas (42%).
  • When play resumed, Ericsson shoved Tatar to the ice during a corner battle, and the Golden Knights didn’t like it;
  • Marchessault re-set and Tatar battled it out front, and Detroit took a penalty as a result.

Ericsson was called for tripping Tatar at 14:07.

  • The Red Wings placed Glendening, Helm, DeKeyser and Jensen on the ice for the PK, they won the deep defensive zone draw, and when Vegas returned to the offensive zone, Detroit parried the Vegas rush.
  • Abdelkader, Larkin, Kronwall and Daley worked the 2nd PK, and Howard stopped Carpenter, Tuch and Theodore cycled, re-set at center, and took advantage of a Wings change, with Eakin and Marrill working the puck across to Theodore.
  • The Golden Knights tried to use a seam pass against the Wings, but Detroit had managed to stifle that pass at least.
  • Vegas re-set and as the power play expired, Detroit wasn’t particularly determined to do much of anything.
  • You would have hoped that the Wings wanted to snap Fleury’s shutout, but that was not the case.
  • With 2:35 remaining, Daley dumped the puck deep, Vegas iced it, and with 2:29 left…
  • Mantha and Daley worked off the faceoff to send a puck or two in on Fleury, but not much was done with gusto or determination, so the Wings went back to defending, and Bertuzzi, Larkin and Mantha were able to keep the puck in the zone, and Mantha clanged a shot off the goalpost.
  • Athanasiou, Abdelkader and Svechnikov had a good forechecking shift as the final minute of play hit, but Vegas attacked, fired another shot on Howard, and Helm, Glendening and Witkowski at least spent the fnal few seconds of play in Vegas’ zone.

The 3rd period in summary: The Red Wings made a couple of attempts to snap Fleury’s shutout, but they could not or would not do so. Detroit didn’t play half-assed, but the Wings were out-classed by an unconventional expansion team.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

Final shot attempts were 53-52 Vegas.

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!

2 thoughts on “Red Wings-Golden Knights quick take: not a disgrace…but not by much”

  1. Painful. I only heard a bit of the second period as I was disgusted that Dook was beating Notre Dame (ACC basketball tournament is all important, fellow babies). I listened to the Las Vegas Fixed Slots beat the crap out of the Wings. for about 8 minutes.

    I do believe that this team has stopped playing for the coaching staff. I cannot say I blame them. Being treated like elementary age kids instead of men will do that to you. We kept Blashill and let the Las Vegas Warped Roulette Wheels grab the best available coach in Gallant.

    Grumble, mumble, mutiny

  2. I think it was just a case of being out-detailed by Vegas. Or out-transitioned. It’s a process though. Just gotta get back to grinding and competing and being 200 foot everyday’ers.

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