Detroit Red Wings Win Sixth Consecutive Game; Take Lead Of Atlantic Division

Tonight the Detroit Red Wings headed to sunny Florida looking to extend their season-best five-game winning streak against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers on the other hand were looking to snap their season-worst four-game losing streak while trying to make up ground in the Eastern Conference standings. Florida had won the previous two meetings against the Red Wings so far this season.

The first period of play was a special teams display by both Detroit and Florida. Danny DeKeyser drew the game’s first penalty after putting the puck over the glass just over seven minutes into the period. The Panthers fired off some quality scoring chances and forced Petr Mrazek to make several huge saves. Shortly after Mrazek’s consecutive saves Drew Miller was able to chase down a cleared puck and out-skate Aaron Ekblad who tried to make a diving save but failed to make contact with the puck. Miller was able to skate into the Florida zone and bury the puck five-hole on Roberto Luongo giving the Red Wings their second short-handed goal of the season and the first goal of the game.

Less than one minute after Miller’s goal and with DeKeyser still in the box, Kyle Quincey was called for slashing giving Florida 46 seconds of 5 on 3 power-play time. It only took the Panthers 22 seconds to set up and easily allow Alexsander Barkov to put a shot top-shelf on Mrazek and tie the game up. It only took the Panthers’ Brandon Pirri just a little over one minute to score again on the power-play with Quincey still serving his penalty. Pirri’s goal was reviewed but it was clear upon review that the puck completely crossed the line before Danny DeKeyser successfully swatted the puck out of the crease.

The Wings did have one chance on the power-play after Brain Campbell was called for interference with about three and a half minutes left in the period but were not really able to accomplish much beside several offside calls.

It only took the Red Wings and Henrik Zetterberg 32 seconds into the second period to find the back of the net and tie the game at two. The Panthers found themselves with three players behind the net which allowed Hank all the time and space he needed to bury his shot from the slot. About three minutes after Zetterberg’s goal the Wings found themselves on the penalty-kill once again after being caught with too many men on the ice. This time the PK and Petr Mrazek stepped up and were able to kill of a fairly strong power-play attempt by Florida.

Just over 7 minutes into the second the Red Wings were once again able to take advantage of a Florida defensive zone mistake when Dylan Olsen gave the puck right to Riley Sheahan from behind the net. Sheahan dished the puck to Stephen Weiss but Weiss was unable to put the puck behind Luongo but luckily for Detroit Luke Glendening was there to pick up the garbage and elevate the puck into the back of the net. Less than a minute and a half later Weiss would have his revenge after Sheahan was able to throw the puck across the front of the net to Weiss who had a wide open area to shoot at and put the Wings up 4-2.

Just over the eleven minute mark Luke Glendening made a great defensive play by blocking a shot which led to Sheahan and Weiss skating down the ice and eventually feeding the puck back to Glendening and allowing him to score his second goal of the game. Mickey Redmond called the goal Glendening’s “best pro goal”. Roberto Luongo would be relieved of his duties for the rest of the evening after Glendening’s goal.

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The Wings would once again give Florida the man-advantage opportunity after Brendan Smith was called for roughing at the 14:21 mark of the second period. The Panthers’ power-play unit was able to find the back of the net for third time as a result of the Smith penalty after Nick Bjugstad put the puck in the net from a wild acute angle with a little help from the stick of Niklas Kronwall. The remainder of the second period wound down and the Wings went into the locker room with a 5-3 lead.

The first half of the third period was fairly uneventful as the Red Wings seemed to take their foot off of the gas and nurse their two goal lead. Things got a little more interesting after Brad Boyes brought the Panthers back within one goal around the 11 minute mark. Boyes’ goal seemed to provide a spark to both Detroit and Florida alike with both teams getting in a few quality scoring chances shortly after. The game took on an even more feverish pace when Drew Miller was called for interference against Jonathan Huberdeau with 2:32 left in the game. With one of our best penalty-killers in the box and the ice seemingly starting to tip in Florida’s favor I thought for sure we were heading to overtime.

But the Red Wings’ PK unit finally woke up and rose to the task of killing off the final and most important penalty of the game. Petr Mrazek made some of his biggest and most timely saves during the final 2 minutes of the game. Even with Montoya pulled from between the pipes the Wings were able to hold off the Panthers and go on to win the game and for the time being take control of first place in the Atlantic Division.

You have to give it to the Florida Panthers for not being the easy two-points/guaranteed win that they once were. This Florida team is big, gritty, building on some promising young talent and they always seem to play really well against the Red Wings as of late. Tonight the Panthers out-hit, out-shot and went 3/5 on the power-play against the Red Wings. There was definitely a little rust that needed to be brushed off from the All-Star break by Detroit tonight but the boys were able to pull it together and grind out a sixth consecutive win tonight. I look forward to and expect an exciting divisional game in Tampa on the Thursday night.

But for now enjoy the view from the top of the Atlantic Division Hockeytown!

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