Jake Walman's penalty snipe in OT caps Detroit Red Wings' rally for 4-3 win over Canucks
The Detroit Red Wings recovered from a sorry stretch in the second period to make a game of it against one of the best teams in the NHL.
They emerged from their extended All-Star break Saturday to play a matinee at Little Caesars Arena against the Vancouver Canucks, who are neck-and-neck with the Boston Bruins atop the NHL standings. The Wings scored first, but their advantage faded when they couldn't build momentum even as they had an extra skater for a third of the middle period.
Two goals in the third period pushed the game past regulation and into overtime, where Jake Walman scored on a penalty shot to secure a 4-3 victory.
"Games like this, it just builds confidence for us," Walman said. "That’s going to be a team at the end, and it’s good that we showed up and we can battle with those teams."
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Lucas Raymond scored first and soldiered through a nasty hit, but the Wings entered the third period trailing by two goals. Former teammate Filip Hronek had a goal and two assists, including a helper on Elias Pettersson's goal that put the Canucks up, 3-1.
"Love the effort," Lalonde said. "Loved our start. We had issues in the second, a little disappointed in that. Back-to-back games where we give up a goal with their guy coming out of the box — one time may be a little unlucky, two times, that’s on all of us. But in the third period, to come back like that against a team like that, that’s protected a lead like that all year long, that’s great. Fun way to get it to overtime and great finish."
The Wings finally got something to show for a power play when Daniel Sprong converted on one early in the third period. Patrick Kane, playing in his 1,200th career game, drew an assist. Kane is just the 18th U.S.-born player to reach that many games; he can tie Keith Tkachuk (1,201) for the 17th-most NHL games by an American in the Wings' next game, Tuesday in Edmonton.
Michael Rasmussen delivered the tying goal when he tipped Walman's shot past Vancouver's Casey DeSmith midway through the third period. Alex Lyon made 28 saves through regulation.
The Wings went 9-2-2 in January to gain a foothold on a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Nice start
The Wings had concerns coming into the game because the Canucks had played twice since the All-Star weekend, having gotten their extended break before the official All-Star pause. But there was no rust evident when Raymond took a pass on the fly from David Perron, entered the Canucks zone, and maneuvered around 6-foot-8 defenseman Tyler Myers to put the puck behind DeSmith.
Raymond goes down, returns
Raymond took a high hit from Nikita Zadorov early in the second period. The Canucks had tied the game by then, on Nils Höglunder's blast from the point while Lyon was dealing with being screened. Zadorov's hit with his shoulder caught Raymond in the head, sending him to the ice. Officials called a major, enabling them to review the incident, and ended up giving Zadorov a game misconduct. Höglander served the five-minute major. Raymond returned before the period ended.
"I don’t like that hit — that’s the classic blindside that the league has been trying to get out of the league for an awful long time," Lalonde said. "I”m glad he’s good. Obviously a good sign he came back."
Squandered advantage
The first player to get a shot on goal during the Wings' man advantage was Canucks forward Teddy Blueger. The second player was Myers. Sprong, playing in Raymond's spot on the second unit, missed on his attempt. Moritz Seider also missed on an attempt. With 9 seconds left in the 5-minute power play, Hronek was called for high-sticking Dylan Larkin, extending the Wings' man-advantage time to nearly seven consecutive minutes. They managed just three shots on net in that span. To make it worse, Hronek erupted from the box, took a pass from Ilya Mikheyev and raced off on a breakaway that ended with the Canucks taking a 2-1 lead.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings down Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 (OT) on Jake Walman goal
