Red Wings-Blue Jackets quick take: Wings show pluck, but Panarin delivers for Columbus in OT

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn a home-opening win against the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening, and the Red Wings theoretically caught a break in that the Blue Jackets chose to start Joonas Korpisalo opposite Jimmy Howard…But Detroit also needed to snap a 6-game losing streak against Columbus while 5 Wings players made their NHL debuts.

The Red Wings’ youth movement provided energy and resolve, displaying some pluck and some aggressiveness and abraision as the Wings rebounded from a rough 1st period to get goals from Cholowski and Bertuzzi, both set up by Larkin and Nyquist, and Jimmy Howard took over in the 3rd, stopping 16 Blue Jackets shots to earn a point…

But over the course of the 3rd period and overtime, the Wings’ youthful enthusiasm wore down somewhat, and in OT, Luke Glendening, Anthony Mantha and Trevor Daley were on the ice for over a minute, and Artemi Panarin ultimately scored with a sniping shot to give Columbus a 3-2 OT win.

Progress made in earning a point against a team that the Wings are now 0-6-and-1 against over their past 7 meetings, but it would’ve been nice to see the plucky Wings score a decisive goal in front of an announced sellout(!).

The 1st period was preceded by pomp and circumstance, with warm-ups in which the players wore “Hockeytown”-named jerseys, as well as player introductions, where the “A’s” were introduced last, with Dylan Larkin getting the biggest cheer…

And the introductions (and singing of the anthem) led to a pre-game puck drop in which Henrik Zetterberg dropped a ceremonial puck at center ice, between Nick Foligno and Justin Abdelkader.


The Red Wings started Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha at forward, Danny DeKeyser and Dennis Cholowski on defense, and Jimmy Howard in goal;

Columbus started Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois at forward, Zach Werenski and David Savard on defense and Joonas Korpisalo in goal.

1st period observations:

  • The puck hit the ice at 7:43 PM, with Larkin and Dubois drawing in for the opening faceoff and Columbus taking the puck but stopping play with a high stick playing the puck at 9 seconds of elapsed time.
  • Cholowski got his first touch of the puck about 20 seconds into the game, and the Wings attempted to set up on the cycle in Columbus’ zone, but the Blue Jackets both trapped in their own end and trapped at center ice.
  • Athanasiou, Abdelkader and Vanek took to the ice next, with Sulak and Daley on defense, chipping and chasing…
  • Frans Nielsen raced up ice with Michael Rasmussen, but he was blocked off the first time, and his second shot attempt was blocked, with Bertuzzi jamming the puck…
  • Hicketts and Hronek touched the puck at 2:05, yielding a faceoff at center…
  • Which Christoffer Ehn took, with Darren Helm and Luke Glendening flanking him.
  • The Red Wings got to the task of taking the puck to the Blue Jackets early, dominating territorial play early, and Dylan Larkin chipped a sneaky shot just wide of the net some 3 minutes into play.
  • Gustav Nyquist got the first shot on goal of the season…
  • And Jimmy Howard then stopped Oliver Bjorkstrand as Columbus managed to cycle in the Wings’ zone.
  • Thomas Vanek, turned passer, looked sharp out there with Athanasiou and Abdelkader.
  • Sulak also looked poised with Daley…

But Tyler Bertuzzi took a delay of game penalty as he absorbed a hit from Josh Anderson at 4:19.

  • PK1: Helm and Glendening did a great job of jamming the puck in deep, generating a shot opportunity and then going off as DeKeyser and Hicketts worked on defense;
  • PK2: Ehn and Abdelkader surrendered a cycle with Hicketts and DeKeyser on the ice…

And Columbus worked the puck around down low, with Panarin and Dubois sending the puck to Cam Atkinson, who slithered a sneaky shot through Hicketts and Howard at 5:12.

Columbus took a 1-0 lead at 5:12, on the power play, from Artemi Panarin and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

  • Mantha, Larkin and Nyquist took the next shift, and they worked the puck in deep and tight via a smart little play by Cholowski to Nyquist, who could not finish in the slot.
  • Columbus responded, but Rasmussen, Nielsen and Bertuzzi worked with Cholowski and DeKeyser to limit the Blue Jackets to board play and a blueline blast that was poked away from the slot by Cholowski. Howard then stopped the next blueline shot.
  • Long story short, Detroit was doing a good job of shutting down shooting lanes post-goal-against, but Columbus was pumping pucks through to the net off the blueline.

First TV timeout:

  • Telling stat: Detroit had fired 2 shots on net, 6 blocked and 2 wide.
  • Columbus continued to work hard in the Wings’ zone some 8-and-a-half minutes into the 1st, and Riley Nash hit the goalpost as Daley, Sulak, Athanasiou, Abdelkader and Vanek got hemmed in. Daley had a couple of turnovers.
  • Detroit looked discombobulated as the 10-minute mark passed. Columbus was taking over in terms of dictating the pace and flow of the game.
  • Libor Sulak got caught up ice after making an excellent offensive rush, and Columbus cycled quite well, but Detroit was able to chip and change.

2nd commercial break:

Shot attempts were 3-on net, 6 blocked and 2 wide for Detroit, and 4 on net, 4 blocked and 3 wide by Columbus.

  • As Henrik Zetterberg spoke with Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond, Gustav Nyquist got a good chance working with Larkin and Mantha;
  • FYI:
  • I have been told that a significant percentage of season-ticket holders did not renew their ticket plans.
  • Howard made a tremendous stop on Artemi Panarin and then Dubois as DeKeyser and Cholowski collapsed in front.

As a result, Dennis Cholowski took a penalty at 12:52 for holding.

  • On the PK, Helm and Glendening raced away from the Blue Jackets and evened things up.

Artemi Panarin got the even-up for holding at 13:09, yielding 1:43 of a 4-on-4.

  • 4-on-4 #1: Nyquist and Larkin with Daley and Sulak;
  • 4-on-4 #2: Athanasiou and Vanek with DeKeyser and Hronek, who jumped into the play and yielded a solid Thomas Vanek shot. Andreas Athanasiou got a solid shot off as well.
  • FYI:

TV Timeout #3:

  • As the first period wound down, Detroit still had some trouble detail-wise, surrendering some “easy clears” via turnovers and affording Columbus more zone time and shots due to a lack of attention to detail.
  • Christoffer Ehn then dazzled on a near-breakaway, using his speed to break through several Blue Jackets before he was held up.

Detroit was assessed another penalty at 17:38, with Justin Abdelkader going off for slashing.

  • Three power plays against. Not great.
  • Glendening, Helm, DeKeyser and Daley worked on the first PK unit, with veterans up opposite Foligno, Panarin and Atkinson…
  • Howard made a booming pad stop on Panarin, another one on tkinson, and DeKeyser made a great block on a seam pass as the Wings’ PK unit got hemmed in. That more or less ended the period.

The 1st period in summary: The Red Wings played a good period in terms of folding in the younger players, but some inappropriate attention-to-detail plays (faceoffs and giveaways) and early penalties afforded Columbus some decisive power play and zone time. The result was an almost inevitable goal for a Wings team that was jittery early on.

First period stats:

Team: Shots 11-5 Columbus. Detroit had 5 shots on goal and another 10 blocked/wide; Columbus had 11 shots and another 13 blocked/wide; hits 8-7 Detroit; giveaways 4-1 Detroit; takeaways 3-1 Detroit; blocked shots 7-6 Columbus; faceoffs 17-7 Columbus (29%).

Individual: Nyquist, Hronek, Vanek, Sulak and Athanasiou had 1 shot; Vanek missed the net twice, and Mantha had 2 shot attempts blocked; Larkin led the team with 2 hits; Vanek, Rasmussen, Bertuzzi and Howard had giveaways; Mantha, Helm and Bertuzzi had takeaways; Athanasiou blocked 2 shots; Larkin was an ugly 1-and-7 (13%) on faceoffs; DeKeyser led the team with 9:13 in ice time.

FSD had the scoring chances at 4-1 Columbus.
The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • Dylan Larkin’s line started the 2nd period, losing the faceoff to Dubois/Atkinson/Panarin. The teams jostled for the puck at center, and Detroit chipped but could not chase.
  • Cholowski looked smart, using his stick and vision to head-man the puck with poise.
  • Columbus didn’t get its first shot off until the 1:29 mark, and Filip Hronek got roughed up a little bit jostling to keep Jimmy Howard’s crease clear, but it was good to see Hronek be his slightly belligerent self.
  • Detroit’s faceoffs and turnovers remained something of an issue.
  • Nielsen, Rasmussen, Bertuzzi and Hronek all touched the puck before Danny DeKeyser sent the puck in on Korpisalo at 2:18 of the 2nd for the Wings’ first shot.
  • It’s not that the Wings are a bad team…It’s that they play on their “back skate” for so long due to an inability to win draws or clear pucks. Youth and veterans alike struggle in that regard. Too casual.
  • Five full minutes of the 2nd period passed with Columbus generally taking the initiative, and Detroit playing without much pace or resolve.
  • And you’ve got to own the pace of the game to recover from a 1-0 deficit.
  • Hunger helps, and the Wings just didn’t look to have much hunger or drive.
  • Hronek found Rasmussen for a good slot shot almost 6 minutes into the 2nd period, and Detroit showed some life with Rasmussen and Bertuzzi hitting, Hicketts holding in the puck, and Bertuzzi regaining the puck, finding Hronek’s skates, and Rasmussen and Nielsen gave and went before Columbus cleared.
  • There’s some jump for ya!

At the TV timeout…

  • Of all the lines, I was surprised by Mantha, Larkin and Nyquist’s lack of jump…

But Dennis Cholowski charged into the Blue Jackets’ slot off a line change, he took a pass from Larkin on the cycle with Nyquist, and Cholowski ripped a shot through Korpisalo.

 


Cholowski scored at 7:46 from Larkin and Nyquist to make it 1-1.

  • Cholowski had to hop over the boards due to a broken Libor Sulak stick, and Cholowski showed a bit of aggressiveness and smartly scored a goal that gave the Wings the opportunity to breathe.
  • Nearly halfway through the game, the Wings were still turning the puck over in their own zone, however, and Detroit’s offensive pressure was isolated as a result.
  • Glendening, Ehn and Helm did a good job of blocking shots in their own zone, skated through center with purpose, and went offside.

At the TV Timeout at 10:33, Detroit was out-shot 6-3 in the 2nd and 17-8 overall; faceoffs were an ugly 28-14 Columbus (33% for Detroit). Shot attempts 34-23 Columbus.

  • Libor Sulak and Josh Anderson got into a bit of a scrum after play resumed, and the Blue Jackets’ defense moved in as everybody started hugging.

Ultimately, Anderson sat for roughing at 10:48.

  • ON THE POWER PLAY: Mantha, Nielsen, Athanasiou, Vanek and Cholowski served as the first PP unit, and they lost the draw but cycled around the perimeter, surrendering the puck and re-setting at center ice.
  • Athanasiou, Cholowski and Nielsen combined for a shot that Korpisalo juggled…
  • With 1:15 remaining in the PP, PP unit #2 came out, and Bertuzzi, Larkin, Rasmussen, Nyquist and Hronek worked together.
  • The Blue Jackets cleared the puck, but the Wings re-set, Larkin got a shot off that knocked Korpisalo’s stick from his hands, and Columbus cleared the puck. Hronek stretch passed to Larkin…Cholowski held the puck in, went to the slot, and Detroit surrendered a 2-on-1…

And on the 2-on-1 turned 3-on-1 as Anderson exited the penalty box, Howard made the stop, but no one took Anderson’s stick, and he jammed the rebound home to make it 2-1 Columbus.

 


Anderson made it 2-1 Columbus at 13:06, from Dubinsky and Duclair.

  • Detroit gave up a 2-on-1 on the following shift, and Columbus was able to hem in Athanasiou and Nielsen…
  • But Athanasiou raced into the Blue Jackets zone among 2 Blue Jackets defenders, he battled his way to the net, and got a good chance off.

At the TV timeout…

  • Detroit picked up their intensity a little bit as the 15-minute mark passed, and Abdelkader worked with Glendening and the lines started to change out of necessity.
  • Vanek, Nielsen and Athanasiou worked together on another line, and Athanasiou’s unobstructed rush to the net –> Blue Jackets penalty.

Columbus’ Carlsson headed to the box at 15:56 for interference.

And Detroit won the faceoff, Dylan Larkin fluttered a puck toward Tyler Bertuzzi, and he tapped the puck past Korpisalo off his foot to make it 2-2 on the power play.

 


Bertuzzi scored the 2-2 goal via a fine pass from Larkin, with Rasmussen crashing the net to distract the Blue Jackets’ defense.

Goal scored at 16:15 from Larkin and Nyquist.

  • Howard had to make a big stop on the post-goal shift, but Detroit then buzzed Columbus…

Until Danny DeKeyser flipped the puck out of play at 17:22, yielding a delay of game call.

  • The Wings lost the faceoff, Howard stopped Panarin, Glendening, Helm, Sulak and Daley ground their way opposite the Blue Jackets’ PP, and Howard made a solid stop.
  • Detroit lost the next faceoff, with Nielsen, Abdelkader, Hicketts and Daley (then Hronek) on the ice, and the Wings forced Columbus offside.
  • Columbus continued to attack on the power play, working the perimeter well, but a bad Panarin pass yielded a relieving clear.
  • Werenski then nearly scored on a slot shot, and Hronek of all people grabbed a Panarin shot…

And grabbed Panarin, who dove. Hronek headed to the box for holding at 19:45, with Athanasiou about to break away.

  • PP #5 for Columbus yielded a quick clear and 1:45 of PK time to start the 3rd.

The 2nd period in summary: Some pluck, jam and desire–and some jump from the Red Wings’ younger players–yielded an even-strength and then power play goal for Detroit, which was at least competing with the Blue Jackets on an even level. Cholowski scored a stirring goal, learned from his mistake, and Bertuzzi’s goal was manufactured via Larkin and Nyquist’s second assists. All along the way, Howard was solid.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 11-9 in the 2nd and 22-14 overall; attempts were 46-34 Columbus; hits 14-10 Detroit; giveaways an ugly 10-4 Detroit (Howard had FIVE giveaways); takeaways 3-3; blocked shots 14-13 Columbus; faceoffs 33-25 CBJ (43%).

Individually, Larkin led the Wings with 3 shots, Athanasiou ahd 2 and the rest of the team had 9 shots; Detroit also had 14 attempts blocked and 6 wide; Ehn led the Wings with 3 hits, and Sulak and Larkin had 2; Howard had 5 giveaways; Mantha, Helm and Bertuzzi had takeaways; Daley blocked 3 shots, Glendening, Bertuzzi and DeKeyser 2; Glendening’s 7-and-5 (58%) faceoff record led the way for the Wings, who were “even” as a team; DeKeyser (16:22), Daley (14:04) and Cholowski (13:30) led the team in ice time.


FSD had the scoring chances at 10-6 Columbus.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • Detroit began the period with 1:45 of PK time.
  • Glendening, Helm, DeKeyser and Daley started the period on teh PK, and Columbus used their umbrella formation to set up Panarin, Werenski and Atkinson…With Panarin clanging a shot off the post.
  • Nielsen, Abdelkader, DeKeyser and Daley worked together on the 2nd PK, and Howard made two very good stops before the Wings cleared the puck and changed Daley for Sulak.
  • Detroit continued to work vs. that umbrella PP, and Larkin came over the boards and poked the puck away from CBJ, all but ending the PK.
  • Detroit did a nice job of blocking pucks as the period continued, but a lack of clearing attempts –> CBJ shots.
  • Hicketts, Athanasiou and Glendening went the other way as a final PK unit caught on ice at even strength, and Hicketts got a solid shot off.
  • 3 minutes into the 3rd, Larkin, Mantha and Nyquist got a good cycle going, and a couple of shot attempts resulted, but Sulak and Daley’s growing pains on the blueline yielded easy clears for Columbus. That being said, Sulak was quite physical, and effectively so.
  • Detroit got something of a forecheck going, and Bertuzzi, Glendening and Rasmussen buzzed around with Hronek and Hicketts…
  • And Helm, Abdelkader and Glendening continued the forward momentum, grinding out the puck down low as Columbus skated on their back foot.
  • Howard made a nice stop on Cam Atkinson as Sulak steered Atkinson tight in on goal…

And Thomas Vanek was called for hooking at 5:41, giving Columbus their 6th PP.

  • On the PK, Larkin and Foligno got tied up as Larkin raced away, Columbus went the other way, and Howard blockered away an Atkinson shot…And another one…
  • Columbus worked their umbrella PP again, with Wennberg, Werenski and Panarin cycling the puck through, and Howard made a great goal-line stand stop as Hicketts and Sulak hacked and whacked the Blue Jackets’ forwards.
  • Bjorkstrand sent another shot wide and Columbus jammed the puck down low vs. DeKeyser and Cholowski as the PK expired, and Howard made another great stop on a tip–and Howard challenged Jenner!

At the TV timeout…

  • Eight minutes into the 3rd period, Columbus looked to have tkaen charge as Howard was stopping shots and facing wide attempts, and the Wings were doing an OK job of negating CBJ second attempts, but the Blue Jackets were getting in on the forecheck and cycling well.
  • Panarin and Werenski then worked quite well at even strength, but Howard was able to gobble up Werenski’s skate-in-and-shoot shot.
  • Ehn and Rasmussen weren’t playing all that much, but both earned a shift with Tyler Bertuzzi just short of 10 minutes into the 3rd, with Hronek and Hicketts on ice as well.

At the TV timeout…

  • Columbus was dominating shots 14-2 in the 3rd, and that yielded some line juggling as the 3rd period progressed…
  • But the Red Wings were hanging on and hanging in.
  • Sulak made a fine end-to-end rush some 15:30 into the 3rd, and it as mostly unnoticed, but boy, can he skate.
  • Rasmussen seemed to be having the biggest, “Holy shit, I’m in the NHL!” moments, but that’s OK. It’s game 1 of 82.
  • Howard made a tremendous stop on Boone Jenner after Hicketts and Hronek got tired out, and the pair of defensemen came up pushing and shoving and hacking and whacking–as did Rasmussen.

At the final TV timeout…

  • Detroit’s youngsters and veterans looked to be tiring a bit at the 15-minute mark, and Columbus was getting into Detroit’s zone a little easier, but to the Wings’ credit, they were blocking shots and passes when Columbus raced into their own zone–and Howard was solid.
  • Nielsen skated with Athanasiou and Vanek a little later in the game…
  • But Mantha, Larkin and Nyquist remained together as they tried to cycle in the Blue Jackets’ zone.
  • A Sulak giveaway yielded a scoring chance for Columbus that Daley blocked as Ehn, Bertuzzi and Rasmussen played together…
  • Abdelkader, Glendening and Helm were reunited, too, with Helm generating a fine scoring chance with 2:02 remaining.
  • Daley was getting double-shifted with Hicketts…
  • With 1:30 remaining, Foligno blocked a HUGE Vanek shot attempt in the slot…
  • And the Wings won a necessary faceoff off a strange icing call with 44 seconds remaining, they battled the puck through center ice, and a Blue Jackets hand pass at center all but guaranteed overtime.

The 3rd period in summary: Bend but not break, that must have been the Wings’ mantra as they gave up 16 shots and took only 3 of their own. Detroit wore down defensively and wore down in terms of its youthful energy, but they got a point, and even in game 1 of 82, that’s something to build upon.

IN OVERTIME: Larkin, Nyquist and DeKeyser started overtime, 3-on-3, Larkin and Nyquist worked the puck to DeKeyser for a slot shot, and Korpisalo made a big stop.

Atikinson and Werenski cycled with Wennberg, Werenski found Atkinson, he centered the puck for Werenski…And Nyquist and Larkin broke away 2-on-1, but Wennberg helped Korpisalo make a big stop.

Glendening, Mantha and Daley took the second shift, but Glendening was tossed from the faceoff circle.

Mantha won the draw, Daley got a shot off, and CBJ skated up as Panarin made a solo play and shot just wide of Howard.

Panarin and Dubois cycled, Foligno came off the bench, cycled vs. a tired Wings trio, and Nutivaara worked the puck to Foligno and Panarin, who scored the OT winner.


Artemi Panarin scored the game-winner at 2:11 from Foligno and Nutivaara.

Jimmy Howard stopped 36 of 39 shots; Detroit had only 20 on Korpisalo.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

The shot attempts were 76-45 Columbus. Detroit ultimately ran out of steam in the 3rd and Howard stood on his head to earn a point, but in OT, when you get tired out vs. a superstar, shit happens.

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!

3 thoughts on “Red Wings-Blue Jackets quick take: Wings show pluck, but Panarin delivers for Columbus in OT”

  1. For as defensively dependable as Glendening supposedly is, his decision to just suddenly stop covering Panarin before the goal was just plain stupid. He just skated away and let Panarin walk right in to that wrister.

  2. Not sure what Blash was thinking for his Overtime strategy. He plays to not lose instead of win. It should of been three speedsters out there with some two way play and a stay at home D men or Cholo. We got Danny De Geyser.

    Not too bad from the young guys overall with Opening night jitters. They all made some mistakes, but so did the season pros on the team.
    Jimmy had a pretty good game.

  3. BTW,
    Did Larkin win more than one Faceoff last night? He needs to train with Zetterberg to up his game there.

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