Red Wings-Avs quick take: 0-9-and-1, ain’t that a kick in the groin

The Detroit Red Wings tried to snap an 0-8-and-1 losing streak against the surging Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon. Colorado had won 6 of their past 10 going into Sunday’s game, and the Avs had earned points in 9 of 10 games.

Detroit displayed good efforts for portions of a 5-1 loss. The Wings gave up a 3-0 lead over the course of the first 31:14, but Detroit played much better during the second half of the 2nd period and until the Avs scored their 4-1 goal in the 3rd, with the Red Wings playing honest-to-goodness dominant hockey for about a period. The Wings just couldn’t or wouldn’t score on Semyon Varlamov, and Jared Coreau was not spectacular by any means, but he got no support whatsoever as Nathan MacKinnon and company steamrolled the Wings.

Disturbingly, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist–arguably the best players of late on the team’s best line of late–were -4, and Bertuzzi and Ericsson were -3.

Detroit will head home at 0-9-and-1 over their past 10 games, hoping to beat Petr Mrazek’s Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the Washington Capitals on Thursday before heading out to play games in Toronto (Saturday) and Montreal (Monday the 26th).

The Avalanche’s lineup was anticipated prior to the game by NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski…

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen

Tyson Jost — J.T. Compher — Sven Andrighetto

Matt Nieto — Carl Soderberg — Blake Comeau

Alexander Kerfoot — Dominic Toninato — Gabriel Bourque

Nikita Zadorov — Tyson Barrie

Patrik Nemeth — Samuel Girard

Duncan Siemens — David Warsofsky

Semyon Varlamov

Spencer Martin

But the Avs threw a curve ball into the equation:

So the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers posted the Avs’ final lineup:

The Red Wings’ lineup was also posted prior to game time:

The Avalanche started Gabriel Landeskog, Nate MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen at forward, Patrik Nemeth and Erik Johnson on defense and Semyon Varlamov in goal;

The Red Wings started Darren Helm, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha at forward, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green on defense and Jared Coreau started in goal.

John McIsaac and Marc Joanette refereed the game, with Brandon Gawryletz and Matt MacPherson working the lines.

The 1st period

1st period observations:

  • Larkin drew in vs. MacKinnon for the opening faceoff, and the draw was tied up, so the Avs chipped and chased, Green sent the puck up to Helm, who was bumped by Johnson, the Avs skated in, acKinnon fed Nemeth, Nemeth was blocked the first time and got his shot through to Coreau the second time at 23 seconds of the 1st period.
  • Detroit won the deep defensive zone faceoff, but turned the puck over and afforded Nieto a rush that Ericsson steered into the corner. Zetterberg chipped the puck in deep for Nyquist and Bertuzzi, Bertuzzi kicked the puck around to Nyquist, Detroit cycled as Zetterberg worked on the left wing half boards, and Jensen was dumped pinching deep, but the Avs coughed up the puck and Detroit changed some 1:19 into the 1st.
  • Colorado skated up 3-on-3 and J.T. Compher got the game’s second shot in on Coreau at 1:30.
  • Glendening won a deep defensive zone draw, Athanasiou chased down the puck as Detroit chipped the puck down ice, and Varlamov held onto the puck, so Detroit was able to get a deep offensive zone draw.
  • Frans Nielsen lost the draw with Athanasiou and Abdelkader on his wings, and Detroit reversed flow, Abdelkader negated an icing and centered the puck for Nielsen, but the pass was blocked, and Colorado changed.
  • Detroit changed as well, with Zetterberg’s line returning to the ice 2:20 into the 1st period, and the Avs went offside.
  • Glendening, Larkin and Helm buzzed into the Avs’ zone off a blueline draw and Varlamov held onto the dump-in yet again, all of 2:49 into the 1st.
  • Glendening remained on the ice with Larkin and Helm, and Detroit surrendered a rush chance to Comeau…
  • And 3:10 into the 1st, Nielsen drew in vs. Kerfoot, the faceoff was tied up, and Detroit cleared the zone, with Green re-setting and Mantha getting credit for the Wings’ 3rd shot of the period only 2:27 into the 1st.
  • Colorado had fired several pucks at Coreau, but the shots were 3-1 Detroit.
  • Nyquist got a good scoring chance, perhaps the Wings’ first, off a faceoff, switching up with Daley on a faceoff win to send a long shot in on Varlamov;
  • Daley kept the pressure up for a moment, but the Avs chugged up 4 on 3, Zadorov skated back to MacKinnon…

And MacKinnon took the drop pass, he sent a snapper in on the net and Landeskog tipped the puck past Coreau with Daley in front.

 Landeskog scored at 3:58 from MacKinnon to make it 1-0.

  • On the post-goal shift, Kronwall helped Helm, Glendening and Larkin cycle down low, but the Avs were able to swipe the puck, Colorado pushed the puck out to center ice, and Detroit battled to keep the puck out on the perimeter, with Coreau gloving the Avs’ 4th shot.
  • When play resumed, Detroit was double-shifting Larkin with Mantha and Abdelkader, and the trio was able to hold the puck in deep for a short period of time, but Colorado re-took the puck away from the Wings.
  • Ericsson tried to start a chip-and-chase play, he got the puck back from Glendening, fired a shot wide, and MacKinnon raced away from Ericsson, firing a hard shot in on Coreau, who made a big stop.
  • Detroit then iced the puck, and Detroit won the deep defensive zone draw, chipped and changed, and Coreau was able to play the puck to his defense, but Detroit was struggling to skate through center ice with possession.
  • 7:30 into the 1st, the Wings were turning over pucks with frequency, and while the Wings were blocking the Avs’ shots, Jensen and Kronwall could only clear the zone, re-set and prepare for another Avs rush against.
  • Coreau also made a nice smother-up 8:15 into the 1st as DeKeyser steered the puck out to him…
  • So, at 8:15, shots were 7-3 Colorado, attempts 7-6 Colorado; hits 6-3 Colorado; giveaways 0-0, takeaways 2-0 Colorado; blocked shots 2-0 Colorado; faceoffs 9-4 Detroit (69%).
  • When play resumed, MacKinnon was able to get a rush off against DeKeyser and Green, but DeKeyser parried the rush;
  • Johnson pinched, found MacKinnon at the right point, and MacKinnon centered the puck but Coreau made a HUGE STOP on Landeskog.
  • The Wings set up with 10:15 remaining in the 1st, and Svechnikov, Zetterberg and Nyquist cycled at center ice, Zetterberg, Bertuzzi and Nyquist tried to put pressure on the Avs’ puck possession, and instead, the Avs skated into Detroit’s zone, forcing the Wings to chip and change.
  • 10:30 into the 1st, Colorado was dominating possession and control.
  • Mantha, Nielsen and Abdelkader were working together up front, and Nielsen came back to help Ericsson stifle an Avs rush;
  • Larkin, Helm and Glendening did a fair job of translating an Avs rush into a Larkin shot that was tipped out of play;
  • At 11:31, Detroit was out-shot 9-4 and out-attempted 10-7; hits 7-5 Avs; giveaways 0-0, takeaways 2-0 Avs; blocked shots 2-1 Avs; faceoffs 10-4 Detroit (71%).
  • When play resumed, Green and DeKeyser were unable to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and Colorado raced in 2-on-1, but Coreau made a lovely stop on a Soderberg shot;
  • Glendening, was getting a lot of ice time substituting on faceoffs, and and Nielsen and Abdelkader were unable to keep the puck in…
  • So Coreau made a fine glove save on Rantanen.
  • Mantha ,Helm and Larkin worked together on the following shift, with Kronwall and Jensen, and they were at least able to push the puck deep and keep it there for a short period of time.
  • Detroit was changing lines VERY quickly due to the altitude…
  • Svechnikov tried to drop the puck to Frk deep in the slot, but the Avs reacted with a 3-on-2 going the other way, and Athanasiou got bumped after Compher did…
  • Zetterberg skated into the Avs zone and set up Bertuzzi, Kronwall set up from the point and fired a hard shot that was stopped, and Zetterberg set up behind the net, trying to feed Bertuzzi.
  • Jensen’s shot attempts were then blocked, and Detroit changed….

And Soderberg raced up via Nieto, Soderberg skated in on the right wing side and he fed Comeau, who tipped the puck through Coreau to make it 2-0.

 Comeau scored at 14:38 from Soderberg and Nieto.

  • Ericsson, Daley, Nyquist and Zetterberg were all at -2 after the Avs’ 2nd goal.
  • At 14:44, Detroit was out-shot 11-4 and out-attempted 14-9; hits 8-8; giveaways 0-0; takeaways 2-0 Colorado; blocked shots 4-3 Colorado; faceoffs 13-5 Detroit (72%).
  • On the post-goal shift, Nielsen, Abdelkader and Glendening surrendered a rush to Landeskog, who missed a wide open chance, and as the 15-minute mark passed, Detroit grabbed a turnover but got caught on a bad pinch, so Larkin had to spin out Landekog as Jensen was caught…
  • Jensen pinched again to help Larkin gain possession against Kerfoot, Detroit changed while in possession of the puck, and Mantha mashed the puck around the corner boards with Athanasiou, but Detroit could not keep possession.
  • That was the theme of the 1st period, in all three zones…
  • And Andrighetto buzzed into the Wings’ zone alone and got the Avs’ 15th shot of the period in on Coreau.
  • Zetterberg, Bertuzzi and Nyquist got an “almost” as they set up down low–as the Wings’ best line of the past three games, at least–and Svechnikov, Frk and Athanasiou continued to cycle, battling the puck to Jensen at the point, and Jensen pinched, Athanasiou fired a puck off an Avs player’s leg, and Detroit got held up on the cycle, but there was no call as Svechnikov was held up.
  • Detroit continued to attack when possible, but the Avs really did a nice job of stifling Detroit’s cycle and negated the Wings’ out-front pass from below the goal line, so Detroit was doing a lot of skating into walls.
  • With under a minute left in play, MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog stifled first Helm, Larkin and Mantha and then Bertuzzi, Zetterberg and Nyquist surrendered a GOALPOST chance to the Avs.
  • The first period ended with the shots suspiciously low at 12-5 Colorado.

The 1st period in summary: It was more of the same, and more of the same sucks for a team that’s 0-8-and-1. Detroit was skating into walls of Avalanche players and surrendering odd-man rushes, with only Jared Coreau preventing things from getting ugly.

Statistically, Colorado out-shot Detroit 12-5 and out-attempted Detroit 20-13; hits were 11-11; giveaways 1-0 Colorado, takeaways 3-1 Colorado (possession changes 3-2 Colorado); blocked shots 6-6; faceoffs 15-5 Detroit (75%).

Individually, Mantha led the Wings with 2 shots, and Helm, Bertuzzi and Daley had 1 shot; Zetterberg and Jensen had 2 blocked attempts apiece; DeKeyser led the Wings with 3 hits, and 8 other players had 1 hit; Helm had the Wings’ lone takeaway; Jensen, Green, Zetterberg, Glendening, Bertuzzi and DeKeyser blocked 1 shot; Zetterberg’s 5-and-0 (100%) led the team in faceoffs, and Detroit was at -10; DeKeyser led the Wings at 7:49 played; Jensen and Green played 7:40; Kronwall played 6:56; Helm played 6:42; Larkin played 6:22; Nyquist played 5:52, as did Zetterberg.

FSD had the scoring chances at 7-3 Colorado on their 12-5 shot advantage.

The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • MacKinnon and Larkin drew in for the second period’s opening faceoff, and Larkin mucked the draw back to DeKeyser and Jensen, and the Wings’ chip and chase yielded more than usual, with Darren Helm clanging a Larkin pass off the right goalpost and Green firing a secondary scoring chance in on Varlamov.
  • Detroit lost the deep offensive zone faceoff and Nielsen had to chug back to block a Tyson Barrie shot with his leg;
  • Detroit attempted to diffuse the Avs’ re-set at center, eventually chipping the puck in on Varlamov, who kept the puck going for once.
  • Jensen flipped the puck out of trouble and Bertuzzi worked to find Kronwall, he worked the puck laterally to Jensen, and Jensen fired a shot wide of the net.
  • Luke Glendening fed Bertuzzi working on a line with Martin Frk–Glendening was out for x-rays–and the Wings re-set, with Larkin, Svechnikov and Frk attempting to jam the puck in on Varlamov.
  • 2:40 into the 1st, Larkin got in on one of his trademark skates around the back of the net, nad he fired a smart little shot in on Varlamov.
  • Detroit seemed to have quite the energy boost to start the 2nd, leading shots 4-1 and faceoffs 16-6…
  • Larkin won the faceoff deep in the Avs zone, Mantha fed Helm unsuccessfully, Larkin cycled as Landeskog lost his stick, Green fed DeKeyser and Detroit chipped the puck into a crowd as Helm got dumped…

And Nikita Zadorov sat at 3:28 for holding Helm and spinning him like a rag doll.

  • ON THE POWER PLAY: Detroit won the opening deep offensive zone faceoff, but the Wings coughed up the puck and afforded Colorado an easy clear.
  • Kronwall set up and skated to center, with Zetterberg drop passing the puck to Nyquist, Zetterberg got the puck back, he fed Abdelkader, and Bertuzzi could not hold the puck in, so the puck was chipped out of play by the Avs.
  • Detroit changed lines only 40 seconds into the PP, and Larkin, Mantha, Nielsen, Green and Frk set up, with Frk blasting a one-timer in on Varlamov. The rebound was worked to Frk but he could not fire, and Green could not retain possession, but the Wings re-set at center, cycled around the perimeter, and Larkin fed Frk for a one-timer that was blocked.
  • With 27 remaining on the PP, Detroit changed units again, and Kronwall slowly skated through center ice, Zetterberg poked the puck into the offensive zone, Nyquist fed Zetterberg and he JUST slid a Bertuzzi feed wide.
  • Zetterberg then tipped a Kronwall shot just wide…
  • And with 14:12 remaining in the 2nd, Glendening chugged up ice, DeKeyser got a shot off on Varlamov, he pinched deep, cycled for Helm, and the Avs chipped the puck out of play.
  • At 6:07, Detroit led shots in the 2nd 7-1 but trailed 13-12 overall; attempts 28-21 Detroit; hits 11-11; giveaways 2-0 Colorado, takeaways 4-1 Colorado; blocked shots 10-6 Colorado; faceoffs 19-6 (76%) Detroit.
  • Detroit won the next faceoff but surrendered a turnover to MacKinnon, who blasted a shot off Coreau; Samuel Girard and Gabriel Landeskog combined for a scoring chance, and MacKinnon sent another bomb near the net; Girard, Barrie and Landeskog tried to stuff a back-door play, they had to re-set at center, and Rantanen sent a pass in front that Coreau had to glove.
  • Detroit won the deep defensive zone faceoff and cleared the zone, with Svechnikov, Nielsen and Abdelkader working with Kronwall to stuff a Svechnikov puck in front, but he couldn’t deliver, and the Avs raced into the Wings’ zone, with Tyson Barrie sending a pass attempt wide of the net.
  • Colorado cycled and went lateral against the Wings–a play that the Bruins began to exploit–and Larkin and Abdelkader had to chip and change.
  • 8:30 into the 2nd, Colorado had regained its footing.
  • Mantha raced in to the Avs’ zone with Frk, but he was tripped and dumped into the boards sans call…
  • Zetterberg and Mantha worked together for half-a-shift, and Nyquist and Bertuzzi rejoined the fray as the Avs iced the puck at 9:24.
  • Detroit lost the offensive zone draw, but the Avs iced the puck again, and Detroit won the second draw, with Nielsen, Athanasiou and Abdelkader cycling with Green, who skated out front himself and was blocked off by Girard.
  • DeKeyser then got beaten back to a puck but Green helped him, DeKeyser fed Athanasiou and he was stopped by Varlamov.
  • 10:20 into the 2nd, Detroit changed lines, Larkin battled on the right wing boards with Helm, and Larkin could not center.
  • Detroit regrouped at center, the Avs iced the puck, and Coreau hopped out of the net to play the puck, but icing was still called against the Avalanche.
  • MacKinnon lost the deep offensive zone draw, Nyquist fed Zetterberg and the Wings generated a scoring chance…
  • But MacKinnon raced the other way…

And Nathan MacKinnon roofed a backhand shot over Danny DeKeyser, beating Jared Coreau over the glove and shoulder.

 Nathan MacKinnon made it 3-0 at 11:14.

  • On the post-goal shift, Glendening, Frk and Athanasiou ground the puck out down low, Nielsen joined the fray and clanged a puck off Varlamov’s shoulder, Nielsen tipped an Ericsson shot wide, Jensen sent a shot off Varlamov, and Detroit attacked the Avs FURIOUSLY…
  • With Daley, Glendening, Frk and Abdelkader cycled down low…

And Justin Abdelkader was the recipient of a smart play by Luke Glendening, who fed Martin Frk from behind the net. Frk saw Abdelkader sneaking away from a defender out front, and Abdelkader chipped a smart shot over Varlamov.

 Abdelkader made it 3-1 at 12:48 from Frk and Glendening.

  • The Red Wings iced the puck on the post-goal shift, and Colorado cycled, with Detroit coughing up a puck to Barrie and Coreau making a massive stop on MacKinnon.
  • Rantanen cycled away, the Wings coughed up the puck again, and Landeskog battled Helm, who was able to clear the zone.
  • Green did a nice job of pushing the puck out front, Nyquist jabbed the puck in on Varlamov, Green skated in and fired a shot on Varlamov, and Detroit went offside.
  • At 14:14, Detroit out-shot Colorado 14-5 in the 2nd and 19-17 overall; attempts 37-30 Detroit; hits 15-13 Colorado; giveaways 3-0 Colorado, takeaways 5-3 Colorado; blocked shots 10-8 Colorado; faceoffs 25-8 Detroit (76%).
  • IN OTHER WORDS, Detroit was working its ass off, Detroit was playing well, and Detroit was still trailing by a significant margin.
  • When play resumed, the Red Wings won the deep defensive zone faceoff but turned over the puck…
  • And Matt Nieto took a Soderberg shot and Nieto put the puck off Coreau and into the crowd.
  • Abdelkader was able to negate an icing on the next shift, and Nielsen and Glendening helped cycle and circle the Avs’ net, with Ericsson firing a shot wide of the Avs’ net. Jensen pinched and battled down low, Larkin sent a shot off a stick and Detroit continued to press.
  • After a TV timeout, Detroit won a deep offensive zone faceoff, Green found Varlamov able to stifle a one-timer from the left wing half boards, and Detroit re-set with 4 minutes remaining.
  • Larkin, Helm, Mantha and Daley all pinched to jam the puck out of the corner, Zetterberg set up at center and blasted the puck down on Varlamov, and Colorado took their chance.
  • Andrighetto’s shot was blocked, the Avs worked the puck back to the point and Andrighetto’s shot was blocked again.
  • Bertuzzi, Nyquist, Zetterberg, Kronwall and Jensen worked the puck out of trouble, Bertuzzi jammed deep, got bumped, and fans cheered.
  • With 2:20 remaining, Green bumped an Av, he took the puck away from Zadorov, and Mantha and Helm worked their tails off to push the puck deep, but Detroit went offside and had to re-set.
  • Landeskog set up in the Wings’ zone with Bourque in front, and the Avs drew a penalty.

Anthony Mantha headed off for holding Landeskog at 18:30.

  • Colorado set up on the PP and Larkin tied up the deep defensive zone draw, but the Avs won the war, and Rantanen and Barrie played catch, Coreau made a good toe save, and Larkin chugged up into the Avs’ end and got the puck to Ericsson, who sent a sneaky shot on Varlamov shorthanded.
  • With 1:02 remaining in the 2nd, Detroit surrendered the offensive zone draw, MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, Bourque and Barrie watched the Wings chip the puck all the way down the ice as Helm made a smart play.
  • Jensen, Glendening, Abdelkader and Ericsson cleared the puck with only 14 seconds remaining, and time ticked down to the point that Colorado would have 30 seconds of PP time to start the 3rd.

The 2nd period in summary: Detroit played a lot better, Detroit played a lot harder, Detroit dominated in terms of shots and in terms of territorial play, but Detroit surrendered a 3-0 goal before getting on the board themselves, and as much as I love my Wings, I can say that a 10th loss appeared inevitable.

Statistically, Detroit out-shot Colorado 16-8 in the 2nd and 21-20 overall; attempts were 42-36 Detroit; hits 18-14 Colorado; giveaways 3-0 Colorado, takeaways 5-2 Colorado (possession changes 5-5); blocked shots 12-10 Colorado; faceoffs 27-11 Detroit (71%).

Individually, Green led the Wings with 3 shots, Jensen, Abdelkader and Mantha had 2 shots, and every skater but Glendening and Kronwall had at least 1 shot; DeKeyser led the team with 3 hits, and Green had 2 hits; Green and Helm had takeaways; Jensen, Green and Bertuzzi blocked 2 shots; Glendening led the Wings with a 4-and-1 (80%) faceoff record; Detroit remained at -10, with Zetterberg and Nyquist at -3; Kronwall led the Wings with 15:02 played; DeKeyser played 14:57; Green played 14:42, Larkin 14:37, Helm 13:07, Jensen 12:24, Mantha 11:42, Daley 11:29, Nyquist 10:47.

FSD had the scoring chances at 12-12 on the Wings’ 21-20 shot advantage.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • MacKinnon drew in for the opening faceoff opposite Nielsen, with the Avs on the power play for 30 seconds.
  • Nielsen lost the draw and the Avs set up.
  • Colorado slid the puck up and into the Wings’ zone after a re-set, Daley could not clear the zone, MacKinnon took the puck from Barrie and he fired a shot on the net but Coreau made two big stops, Nielsen was checked taking a pass as Mantha skated out of the penalty box, and that was the penalty-kill…
  • Though Abdelkader and Helm jabbed some shots in on Varlamov, and Detroit earned a power play…

As Mantha was hooked in the crease at 0:54. Nemeth sat.

  • Zetterberg won the draw deep in the Avs’ zone, Nyquist sent a coulpe of shots in on Varlamov, Kronwall regrouped and fired a shot in on Varlamov, Zetterberg bumped one off Varlamov’s pads and to Abdelkader, the play was tipped wide, Bertuzzi worked the puck to Kronwall, he centered the puck and the Avs cleared with 55 seconds gone in the PP.
  • Frk, Larkin, Nielsen, Green and Mantha set up on the PP, but Mantha sent an un-screened, un-tipped and un-followed shot in on Varlamov, who made an easy stop.
  • Larkin drew in with 34 left in the PP and he lost the draw; Nielsen blocked the Avs’ initial clearing attempt, but the Avs were able to chip the puck down ice.
  • Detroit skated deep and as the PP expired, Frk found Green, Mantha backhanded a puck on the goal line and Varlamov made a huge stop.
  • 2:58 into the 3rd, Athanasiou drew in with Glendening and Helm, but the Avs skated up 2 on 3, offside, and the Avs took the “unintentional” offside faceoff at the Wings’ zone.
  • With Colorado actually winning draws, AA won the puck and sent the puck deep…

But Darren helm hacked Patrik Nemeth in the face on an accidental high stick, and at 3:18, the Avs headed to the power play.

  • Colorado set up and Barrie fed MacKinnon for a one-timer that Coreau gobbled up.
  • Glendening won the next draw and DeKeyser cleared the zone.
  • With 1:30 remaining in the PK, Larkin and Glendening could not stop MacKinnon’s rush, he cycled for Rantanen, then Landeskog, and the Avs set up an umbrella PP, but Coreau made a nice stop on Rantanen.
  • 50 seconds into the PK, the Avs changed up their lines.
  • Nielsen, Abdelkader, Ericsson and Jensen did the same and Coreau made an ice stop on Soderberg.

J.T. Compher and Soderberg pushed and shoved Ericsson and Jensen after the Coreau was poked at after the initial stop, and the linesmen let the stuff go.

  • With both centers tossed out of the draw, Soderberg lost the deep offensive zone draw to Larkin, he raced the puck to Glendening and Glendening was STONE COLD STOPPED by Varlamov.
  • Detroit re-set and Nielsen was fed by Larkin once and then twice, but Varlamov made a big stop again.
  • The penalty expired.
  • With just over 14:30 remaining.
  • Detroit battled the puck out of trouble, with Helm, Abdelkader and Athanasiou working together, and Detroit continued to change lines quickly.
  • With 14 minutes remaining in regulation, the Avs chipped and chased, Kronwall found Nyquist, Green dropped to Kronwall, Detroit skated into the zone PP style, Nyquist and Bertuzzi fed Zetterberg, he swiped the puck away from some Avs, and Detroit swiped another puck, Nyquist fed Jensen, and Zetterberg stole ANOTHER puck, fired a shot in on Varlamov, and Detroit dominated on the forecheck.
  • Zetterberg was dumped and went down, MacKinnon raced in, wrapped the puck around the net and it went off Ericsson and in.

Nathan MacKinnon took the puck away from the Wings, he raced past Jensen, wrapped the puck around the net, and MacKinnon put the puck off Jonathan Ericsson’s stick and into the net.

 MacKinnon made it 4-1 from Landeskog and Comeau at 7:09.

  • Detroit raced up 3-on-2, fumbled the puck, and Rantanen and Jost skated into the Wings’ zone, the Wings re-set, and the Avs did the same, skating into the Wings’ zone.
  • With 11:55 remaining in the 3rd, Colorado was stealing pucks at center ice, and Soderberg made a great play that Coreau stopped.
  • At 8:12, Detroit was out-shooting Colorado 12-5 in the 3rd and 33-25 overall; attempts 55-42 Detroit; hits 19-16 Colorado; giveaways 4-1 Colorado, takeaways 6-3 Colorado; blocked shots 13-11 Colorado; faceoffs 30-18 Detroit (63%).
  • When play resumed, Coreau had to stop a sneaky shot from MacKinnon as he got loose at the left goalpost;
  • Coreau then made another set of saves on MacKinnon from the right hand side;
  • Detroit won the next faceof, and Glendening, Abdelkader and Nielsen played a shift together, working with Green and DeKeyser, and the Wings’ attack…
  • Went poof.
  • The momentum had shifted to Colorado.
  • Colorado skated up ice a couple of times, Coreau got lucky on a Matt Nieto chance, and Bertuzzi, Larkin and Nyquist worked together as time ticked down.
  • At 10:03, shots were 11-7 Detroit in the 3rd, 32-27 overall; attempts 54-45 Detroit.
  • The Wings resumed play and Bertuzzi, Zetterberg and Nyquist pumped the puck to Daley, who was stifled by Varlamov, and Compher skated up ice and was stuffed by Coreau.
  • With 9:22 remaining, the game sure as hell seemed over with time left on the clock.
  • Colorado won the deep offensive zone draw and cycled, with Girard finding MacKinnon on the point…
  • The Red Wings continued to turn pucks over and Detroit had to ice the puck with 8:39 remaining.
  • MacKinnon was being brought out for sneaky shifts on the point. The Avs were leaning toward getting MacKinnon the hat trick.
  • Detroit iced the puck successively, slowing down the pace of a game that had gotten away from them.
  • Frk, Larkin and Mantha did a nice job of at least parrying away an Avalanche rush, and Detroit was on the defensive, with Kronwall and Helm chipping and the Wings not chasing.
  • Icing, icing, icing, cake.
  • Detroit managed to spring Athanasiou for a nice rush off a deep defensive zone draw, but the Avs blocked his attempt, and Svechnikov got half-a-shift before Bertuzzi, Zetterberg and Nyquist were back on the ice. Nyquist got a good shot attempt off on Varlamov, but the Avs returned to Detroit’s zone…
  • And Coreau had to make a big stop as Ericsson and Bertuzzi went after Compher and Jost.
  • Tyler Bertuzzi decided that he was tired of watching the Avs hack at Coreau, so Bert went after Compher, and nothing was called.
  • Detroit battled away in the corner against the Avs on the post-scrum shift, and Abdelkader, Glendening and Athanasiou had their physical games in tow, mashing and crashing fairly heavily.
  • With under 6 minutes remaining in the game, Mantha, Larkin and Helm mucking and grinding.
  • The final TV timeout hit at 14:32, and Frk, Athanasiou and Svechnikov got a short shift together against Soderberg’s line. They acquitted themselves well for 30 seconds.
  • Colorado was generating 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 rushes with ease, however…

So Mike Green sat at 15:28.

  • The game was getting kind of nasty, and Abdelkader hacked an Av…

So Abdelkader sat, giving the Avs a 5-on-3 at 15:34.

  • Glendening, Daley and DeKeyser worked against MacKinnon and company, and they were changed quickly as the Wings cleared the zone.
  • Nielsen, Jensen and Ericsson came out…

And Coreau was screened by Landeskog as Barrie slapped a one-timer behind him at 16:24.

 

Abdelkader got a 10-minute misconduct and was kicked out of the game after Barrie scored at 16:24 to make it 5-1. Girard and Rantanen had the assists.

  • Detroit battled away in their own zone as time wound down, with Ericsson, Jensen, Glendening and Larkin mucking away on the 5-on-4 PK.
  • Detroit won another deep defensive zone faceoff, but the Avs stacked their deck, working the 5-on-4 quite well, and Johnson sent a big slapper wide of the net;
  • Andrighetto and Compher sent the puck to Soderberg, the Wings cleared the zone with Larkin and Svechnikov working together for half a shift, and as the PK expired, Larkin was joined by Mantha and Frk.
  • Colorado continued to cycle in the Wings’ zone, Detroit was able to clear and Athanasiou sent a puck in on Varlamov, and Glendening swiped a puck via a penalty uncalled, Green found Frk for a one-timer that broke Frk’s stick, Detroit cycled, Hem jammed the puck into an Av and the Avs cleared the zone.
  • With 30 seconds remaining in the 3rd period, Colorado’s crowd–the burgundy-and-blue-wearing group, not the legions of red–were cheering for their Avs.
  • Detroit won one final draw in the Avs’ zone, and the period ended with Jensen high-sticked in the mouth.

Andrighetto sat at 19:53 for high-sticking Jensen in the mouth.

  • Detroit won the draw, Colorado blocked the lateral pass, and that was that.

The 3rd period in summary: 0-9-and-1 says a lot, as does the fact that the Red Wings struggled so mightily after the Avs scored their 5-1 goal. That was perhaps the greatest concern of the game–Detroit went from an absolutely dominant performance in the 3rd period to playing jittery, skittish, and scared hockey against a better team. It was a baffling end to a not-so-bad effort.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

The final shot attempts were 54-45 Detroit.

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!

10 thoughts on “Red Wings-Avs quick take: 0-9-and-1, ain’t that a kick in the groin”

  1. Last time the losing streak was this bad Wings picked up the first draft pick…. I feel positively terrible.

    TOI was weird this time. Still only young Larkin earning respectable minutes tho. AA and Mr. Svechnikov remarkably low minutes. Do they appear that bad to you?

    1. If I may be blunt, I think AA is one of the Wings who looks like he’s mailing it in right now. Understandable, but it’s still worrisome.

      1. Are you HSG incognito. There are a lot looking like mailing in it in, Big E (-7 in 2 games)but that may be very well be normal for Errorson), …Not all youngsters Mr George Blashill, LOL.

        Actually no one really knows, safer not to be guessing , IMO

        1. I’d suggest that I’m Blashill in disguise, but that would involve shaving my goatee, and that’s a crime against humanity (and my ski slope of a chin).

    1. No, obviously, and I think that the “blame” for the losing streak has a lot of shoulders to lean upon.

  4. No, obviously, and I think that the “blame” for the losing streak has a lot of shoulders to lean upon.

    George, now that is very worrisome

    1. Aw, heck, I weigh 50 pounds more than Blashill does. I’ve been six feet tall and somewhere around 250 since I was 12. Made for a great “checking forward.”

  5. I will have to get a Be Nice button for you!!

    That is a very big 12 yr old Goalie, even in Manitoba

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