Detroit Red Wings Show Poise And Patience In 3-1 Win Over Coyotes

Feb 5, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) (left) is congratulated for the win over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Red Wings defeat the Avalanche 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the Detroit Red Wings headed out into the desert to take on the Phoenix..I mean Arizona Coyotes for the second game of their yearly fathers/mentors trip. The Wings have played some great team hockey as of late which has lead them to winning 8 of their last 9 games. Petr Mrazek would also make is 10th consecutive start for Detroit tonight.

The Red Wings seemed to have their legs under them from the very start of the game but also seemed to favor a more patient approach towards the Coyotes. Just shy of a minute and a half into the first period Gustav Nyqusit was called for hooking after attempting to retrieve a stolen puck. Coming into tonight’s game the Coyotes boasted the 6th best power-play in the league. Detroit seemed to be up to the task and was able to solidly kill off Arizona’s first man-advantage attempt. The Coyotes would get another chance on the power-play 7 minutes into the period after Brendan Smith was called for a questionable interference call against Tobias Rieder. The Coyotes power-play unit was much more effective the second time around and cycled the puck very well but Mrazek and the Red Wings were able to once again kill off the penalty.

The Wings had their chance on the power-play around the 16 minute mark of the period after David Moss slashed Brendan Smith as he entered the Arizona zone along the half-boards. It took about half of the penalty time for the Red Wings power-play unit to warm up but they showed some good hustle, cycled the puck well and had some quality looks at the net but were unable to put the puck behind Mike Smith. The remainder of the first period continued to have a patient/feeling out process to it and ended with Detroit out-shooting Arizona 11-7.

The second period of play would prove to be a little more exciting and eventful compared to the first. The Red Wings started the period by applying good pressure, winning battles and playing their signature puck-possession style of hockey. Justin Abdelkader played the agitator role well in the second period getting under the Coyotes skin on two different occasions. Abdelkader knocked Alexandre Bolduc down and into Mike Smith dislodging the Arizona net. Andrew Campbell took exception to Abdelkader’s play and got called for roughing in the ensuing scuffle.

Detroit continued to skate well and put forth a great effort to keep plays alive on the Campbell roughing power-play. The hard work and effort would pay off and Riley Sheahan was able to bury a beautiful slap-shot to put the Red Wings up 1-0. The goal was made possible by great efforts/keep-ins from both Tatar and Datsyuk. Less than one minute after Sheahan’s goal Detroit was caught and called for too many men on the ice but luckily Shane Doan would offset the Detroit penalty after being called for slashing just 41 seconds into the Arizona power-play attempt. Both Arizona and Detroit would kill off their penalties.

Before the period ended Kyle Quincey would be called for both hooking and unsportsmanlike conduct giving Arizona a 4 minute penalty opportunity but the Wings would kill off the entire 4 minutes without much struggle.

The Red Wings started off the third period by getting another chance on the power-play just two and a half minutes in after Arizona’s Michael Stone was called for interference on Justin Abdelkader. The Wings had some good looks and Kronwall rang a shot off the outside left post but they weren’t able to connect to the back of the net. Not long after Kronwall hit the post Tomas Jurco nearly made it 2-0 when he made the iron sing with his shot attempt.

About halfway through the final period Detroit would get their 5th power-play chance after Darren Helm was hooked by Zbynek Michalek. As the Red Wings cycled and attempted to set up on the power-play Kronwall turned the puck over at the blue-line and Martin Erat was able to escape on a short-handed breakaway attempt. Danny DeKeyser was able to catch up to Erat and get his stick on him forcing a penalty shot. Petr Mrazek was up to the task and confidently challenged Erat and used his blocker to deny the shot attempt.

With 3 minutes left in the final period Tomas Tatar and Darren Helm forced a turnover which led to an odd-man rush. Helm feed the puck to Tatar in the slot and Tots was able to bury his wrist-shot behind Mike Smith putting the Wings up 2-0. Arizona waited another minute to pull Smith to get the extra attacker and they would be able to score shortly afterwards putting the Coyotes back within one goal. Once Arizona was able to gain control of the puck they pulled Smith one final time to try and tie the game at 2 but it would be Darren Helm who would get the empty net goal to put the Wings up 3-1. It would be Helm’s second consecutive game with an empty-netter. Helm’s goal would secure the victory for the Wings and tie Detroit with Tampa Bay for first place in the Eastern Conference.

For the third straight game the Red Wings really functioned well as a unit. The team seemed to start on time and have their heads in the game for the full 60 minutes. It was a very well rounded defensive effort for the most part. Petr Mrazek looked confident in his 10th consecutive start for the team as he continues to give optimism for the future of Detroit goaltending. The entire team showed grit and won the battles while putting in extra effort to keep plays alive in the offensive zone. Maybe it was all the Red Wings fans in attendance that made the boys feel like they were at home back at the Joe.

So kudos to the entire team for another great group effort tonight and for winning the 1,500th game under the Ilitch’s ownership. It was great to see all the Detroit fans representing the Winged Wheel at the Gila River Arena tonight and supporting this great franchise that we have all come to love throughout the years.

Have a great weekend Hockeytown!