The Detroit Red Wings Remain Winless Lose to Ducks in SO

Jimmy Howard stands tall late in overtime to force a shootout in Anaheim, but the Detroit Red Wings would fall short once again.

The Detroit Red Wings didn’t exactly start the evening on fire in Anaheim. The Wings took a penalty in the first minute of play again to start the game. The early and often trips to the sin bin have been a theme they need to ditch to begin the season. Nyquist was the culprit last night with a little slash near the hands which will be called every time in today’s NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings have improved on their penalty kill this season, well early on anyway. They continue to pressure the oppositions power play unit, forcing them to move the puck not allowing much time or space for them to set up.

Going into the game, the Detroit Red Wings have seen a boost on their power play. Dan Bylsma has already made an impact on the Wings bench running the unit. A very, very small sample size but the Wings have scored three times on the PP early on in the season.

Tyler Bertuzzi opened the scoring with a beautiful spin-a-rama that would have made his uncle Todd proud. The goal was set up from a nifty play on the wall by Frans Nielsen. He took a John Gibson turnover on the half wall and tapped it between his skates as he was being contested. Michael Rasmussen received the pass from Nielsen and made a stellar pass to the open Bertuzzi for the goal. That would be “big Ras’ first career NHL point.

Andreas Athanasiou continues to get top quality scoring chances but has yet to make them count. Last night in the second period he created a clear-cut breakaway again for the second time in as many nights but failed to deliver.

Jimmy Howard made 25 saves on the night and was by far the Wings best player. Howard flashed the leather a couple of times late in OT to give the Wings a chance to win it in a shootout but they fell short.

Athanasiou needs to start delivering the mail on these scoring opportunities. He deked to the backhand and elevated the puck well over the net. It is getting to a point where I would like to see AA just forget about the deke just once and rip a clapper on goal to at least record a shot on these chances.

Luke Glendening also nearly netted a highlight reel goal in the first period. He did a nice little toe drag and “dipsy do” around a couple of Ducks players. He navigated in on goal and pulled the puck across the front of the net from his backhand to forehand and sent the puck wide. I am not sure where he picked that type of stick handling from, and I am not convinced he could do it again, not even on a video game.

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Darren Helm recorded his first goal of the season. He took a shot from the hash marks that was originally blocked by a Ducks defender and came right back to Helmer who shoveled a soft backhander that found its way through goaltender John Gibson.

Libor Sulak had one of those “rookie” evenings last night. Sulak had a couple of turnovers in his own end but Jimmy Howard was able to bail the youngster out for the most part. I wouldn’t be to concerned, we expect the young players to have ups and downs. Hopefully, Jeff Blashill gives him an opportunity to bounce back Thursday rather than sitting him down for a night. I don’t want to see a “Blashill” type move as a reaction to one game struggle.

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Key Statistics:

Bertuzzi- Goal/14:58 TOI
Helm- Goal/14:47 TOI
DeKeyser -Assist (100th career point) 27:13 TOI
Cholowski-21:50 TOI, 3 Blocks
Larkin-5 shots on goal, 19:47 TOI
Rasmussen- Assist (First career point), 11:13 TOI
Howard- 25 Saves, 2 GA

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