The Detroit Red Wings Down The Winnipeg Jets: Four To Three
By Peter Fish
Two Detroit Red Wings – Petr Mrazek and Xavier Ouellet – made their first appearance of the season against the Winnipeg Jets.
First Period
Johan Franzen went down thirty seconds into the game after colliding with Andrew Ladd in the middle of the ice.
Thankfully Franzen was able to skate off the ice under his own power and stayed in the game for Detroit, which ended up being important for Detroit.
The Detroit Red Wings’ lone power play chance in the first seemed to give the Jets’ more chances on net than the Red Wings and ended up costing Detroit a penalty.
While the shots were fairly even in the first period, it is easy to say the Jets owned most of the first period, but there were not able to capitalize on any chance because of Petr Mrazek.
Mrazek’s aggressiveness in net gave the Jets almost no net to shoot at because Mrazek was either at the top of his crease or completely out of the crease on most of Winnipeg’s shots.
Mrazek was out so far on one shot that Danny DeKeyser bumped into him.
Shots:
DET – 7
WPG – 8
Score
Detroit Red Wings: 0
Winnipeg Jets: 0
Second Period
The Jets jumped out to a lead early in the second period when Dustin Byfuglien found his way to the net and deflected a pass past Petr Mrazek.
Riley Sheahan was all over Byfuglien, but did not have his stick and it cost Detroit.
The Jets struck again in the second when Adam Lowry batted a puck out of the air, which was initially called off, but video relpay showed the puck heading into the net and clanking off the camera.
It seemed like it was going to be another one of those night’s where the bounces do not go Detroit’s way, but thirty seconds after Lowry’s goal the Jets passed the puck directly to Tomas Tatar in the slot and he ripped a shot past Ondrej Pavelec.
It was a monumental mistake for Winnipeg and one that gave Detroit life.
The lone power play goal of the game came less than three minutes later after Toby Enstrom was called for tripping.
Danny DeKeyser brought the puck out from behind Detroit’s net, dropped it back to Tomas Jurco, and he found a Mule going full steam into the Jet’s zone.
Franzen deked out the first defender at the blue line, made a quick move into the slot for a better angle, and beat Pavelec far-side to tie up the game.
The Jets were able to take the lead back later int he period on a shot off the stick of Mathieu Perreault; Petr Mrazek never saw the shot.
Shots:
DET – 13
WPG – 22
Score
Detroit Red Wings: 2
Winnipeg Jets: 3
Third Period
The Detroit Red Wings started to take over in the third period, while the Winnipeg Jets began to falter.
While the Red Wings were getting quality chances, nothing was going in, until a shot from the point Brian Lashoff ricocheted off Justin Abdelkader out front and past the Jet’s goaltender.
Abdelkader was clearly out of the crease for the shot and rebound, but part of me is still surprised the Tomas Holmstrom rule was not in effect.
Late in the third, it was Justin Abdelkader making things happen again for Detroit.
Abdelkader skated past Byfuglien and Trouba on the outside and because all eyes were on Abdelkader, no one saw Tomas Tatar sitting out front all alone. Abdelkader hit him with the pass and Tatar finished it off for Detroit.
The Red Wings held the lead for the rest of the period and while Danny DeKeyser was pretty close to picking up and empty net goal, Tomas Tatar’s goal was the last one they needed.
Shots:
DET – 27
WPG – 31
Score
Detroit Red Wings: 4
Winnipeg Jets: 3
Top Players for Detroit
Petr Mrazek: The Red Wings allowed Winnipeg to put a lot of pressure on the young goaltender, but he showed he is ready for the NHL.
Tomas Tatar: Tatar is turning into a superstar before our eyes, he keeps his feet moving constantly and is always looking to shoot the puck at the net.
Forgettable Players for Detroit
The Red Wings’ power play was able to pick up a goal against the Jets, but they gave away the puck too much and allowed way too many shorthanded chances against Winnipeg.
The Detroit Red Wings will head to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs Saturday night.