DETROIT (AP)—The Detroit Red Wings followed their new game plan perfectly.
Pavel Datsyuk(notes) and Henrik Zetterberg(notes) scored in the shootout to lift Detroit to a 2-1 win over San Jose, snapping the Sharks’ six-game winning streak.
Zetterberg also had a goal in regulation, and Chris Osgood(notes) made 33 saves for Detroit, which isn’t the high-scoring team it has been the past few years.
After the free-agent losses of Marian Hossa(notes) and Mikael Samuelsson(notes) and Jiri Hudler’s(notes) decision to play in Russia, the Red Wings knew they would have to play better defensively and grind out games more. But early season long-term injuries to talented forwards Johan Franzen(notes) (knee) and Valtteri Filppula(notes) (broken wrist) have made Detroit more of a defense-oriented team.
“We’re not going to win the same way we did before,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We don’t have the team to do that.”
Datsyuk and Zetterberg, both centers, were also big parts of the defensive effort. Zetterberg went head-to-head with Joe Thornton(notes), and Datsyuk faced Patrick Marleau(notes) all night.
“He’s (Marleau) been their best player,” Babcock said. “That’s why I wanted Pav to play against him.”
Osgood also had his third good game in a row—a big reason for the Red Wings’ three-game winning streak—after a slow start.
“He gave us confidence to play well in front of him,” Zetterberg said.
Logan Couture(notes) scored his first NHL goal for San Jose. Evgeni Nabokov(notes) stopped 35 shots.
“We fought hard for the one point, and we got five out of six on the road,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle(notes) said. “We would have taken that before the road trip started.”
Even though Detroit trailed 1-0 late in the second period and early in the third, captain Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) said the Red Wings remained calm.
“Even when you’re behind, you can’t panic and take chances,” he said. “We stuck to the game plan,”
They were rewarded when Zetterberg tied it 1-1 at 5:38 of the third period. He poked a puck in from under Nabokov’s pad for his fourth goal.
“The puck was laying there, I just hoped the referees didn’t blow the whistle,” Zetterberg said. “I came late from a change and no one saw me coming in there.”
Couture opened the scoring with 5:19 left in the second period when he beat Osgood with a wrist shot from the right circle.
NOTES: Detroit public address announcer Budd Lynch was honored before the game. It was the 60th anniversary of his first television play-by-play broadcast of a Red Wings game. Lynch, 92 and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, also worked in the team’s public relations office. He has been the public address announcer at Joe Louis Arena for 24 years. Fans received a Budd Lynch bobblehead. … San Jose D and captain Rob Blake(notes) didn’t play because of an upper-body injury. His left arm was in a sling. … Detroit defensemen Brian Rafalski(notes) and Jonathan Ericsson(notes) returned after missing a game with the flu. … San Jose head equipment manager Mike Aldrich worked his 1,000th NHL game.
Winging It In Motown
Fear The Fin
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Now you may be suffering from any combinations of the aforementioned symptoms that are synonymous with old age. Looking at the replay from a variety of angles, the puck was not visible, as Zetterberg said he whacked at the puck and hoped they wouldn’t blow the whistle. How come you degenerates cannot admit you got a break?
And I cannot emphasize how much I hate the camera angle in Detroit. Do we really need to see all those slobs trying to match their ticket with the number on the chair? Its like if you have ever had the displeasure of seeing a horrible bootlegged movie where you see people get up and hit the concession stand. Just distracting. Plus there are the morons that stand up and wave their arms every time the puck is in the zone close to them. Just terrible…
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I would have to say the reason for 34 shots against Detroit last night ,was that the Sharks at this time are the highest scoring team in the NHL. Usually a high scoring team will get a lot of shots on goal.
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They were rewarded when Zetterberg tied it 1-1 at 5:38 of the third period. He poked a puck in from under Nabokov’s pad for his fourth goal.
“The puck was laying there, I just hoped the referees didn’t blow the whistle,” Zetterberg said. “I came late from a change and no one saw me coming in there.”
I think Zetterberg is trying to say in his broken English that even he knew they got a break.
As for your claim that only one ref watches the puck, well that's just absurd. It's true that the referees generally are significantly spread out but both are looking for infractions as well as able to declare goals or stoppages.
Here’s a little ditty from the NHL rule book, section 32.3
As there is a human factor involved in blowing the whistle to stop play, the Referee may deem the play to be stopped slightly prior to the whistle actually being blown. The fact that the puck may come loose or cross the goal line prior to the sound of the whistle has no bearing if the Referee has ruled that the play had been stopped prior to this happening.
Interesting...
Furthermore, you must not have ever played if you're making retarded assessments such as "or if it's under the pad. think about it... how, on ice, can the puck after it is shot be UNDER the pad? shouldn't it bounce off the pad or stay right infront of it?"
Wow, are you serious?
Oh yeah and you're theory "every garbage goal would be dis-allowed because at some point or another the ref would not see the puck" - another gem. You are such a homer that you don’t even know what a garbage goal truly is. You have 2 of the biggest garbage goal recipients on your squad.
Final score: Red Wings got a break and you're still a moron
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(and for those who say "HE SHOULD BLOW THE WHISTLE WHEN HE CAN'T SEE THE PUCK!" guess what? every garbage goal would be dis-allowed because at some point or another the ref would not see the puck)
unlike us, the ref does not have 5 different camera angles and all the time in the world to make a decision as to whether or not the puck was covered. GET OVER IT
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As for the Detroit goal, it was clearly covered up under Nabby's left pad. The ice angle showed the referee put the whistle in his mouth and as Remenda pointed out last night, when the referee thinks about blowing the whistle, then the play is dead. That was an embarrassing goal for the NHL to allow. But oh well, bad break let’s move on.
Overall, Nabby played well, the D was too soft and there were too many turnovers at both blue lines. I think that the game plan was to take down the aggressiveness in an attempt to not face the Wing PP and it made the Sharks slow to the puck, weak on the boards and in front of their own net.
I'm really looking forward to the rematch.
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I thought the Wings had scoring chances that they let slip away by missing the net, and that would have eased the tension some, but it had great tempo and speed and was what good hockey looks like.
I look forward to the next time these two teams play and one of the teams isn't on a back to back night. It'll be great.
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