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Detroit Red Wings pull off a Victory against the Dallas Stars

By Bob Heyrman

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 28: Jonathan Ericsson #52 of the Detroit Red Wings skates with the puck behind the net followed by Tyler Pitlick #18 of the Dallas Stars during an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena on October 28, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 28: Jonathan Ericsson #52 of the Detroit Red Wings skates with the puck behind the net followed by Tyler Pitlick #18 of the Dallas Stars during an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena on October 28, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Red Wings were victorious tonight as they hosted the Dallas Stars.  The game-winning goal was undoubtedly provided by an unlikely source.

Jonathan Ericsson proved to be an unlikely hero tonight for the Detroit Red Wings.  The big often lumbering defenceman flipped a point shot that had eyes through traffic in front of the large framed 6 foot 7 Ben Bishop and found its way to the twine.

It would be Ericsson’s first and quite possibly only goal of the season. He is definitely not a goal scoring threat from the Detroit Red Wings back-end, but it only proves one thing.  Shoot the puck towards the net and good things can happen.  The Wings have been struggling to find any type of consistent offense; they are often differing to a pass looking to make a perfect play instead of shoveling more pucks towards the goal.

The Stars opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Gemel Smith, the brother of Wings prospect Givani.  The Stars caught Nick Jensen flat-footed in the neutral zone, and it cost the Wings in the first period. Smith would go onto have a few more quality chances for the Stars tonight but was unable to find another goal.  He fumbled the puck on a breakaway that nullified a scoring opportunity.

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Jonathan Bernier was solid for the first time in his three starts.  He made 28 saves on 30 shots.  That is good enough for .933% save percentage.  He wasn’t peppered like Howard Friday, which was a pleasant sight for Wings fans.  Although the Wings were once again heavily outshot at times, it wasn’t 21-1 or anything at least.  The Stars did outshoot the Wings 30-23 on the evening.

Tyler Bertuzzi was the beneficiary of a “Joe Louis Arena” bounce.  The puck was fired into the Dallas zone around the dasher, and when Bishop went behind his net to play the puck, it hit a stanchion and bounced in front of the goal where Bert was waiting to deliver the puck into the gaping net.  A little bit of Joe Louis Arena luck brings back a lot of memories to us Detroit Red Wings fans.

Anthony Mantha had a power-play goal called back in the first period.  Mantha was at the side of the target and kicked the puck and tried to tap it with his stick before it crossed the goal-line but was unsuccessful.  The goal was disallowed.  Mantha would have the last laugh though; he would later score in the second period on a beautiful one-timer from Gustav Nyquist.  Goose found Mantha from behind the net, and this time Mantha would not be denied.  It tied the game at 1 and got the Wings going.

Justin Abdelkader added an empty-net goal after Radek Faksa scored for Dallas with the extra attacker to cut the Wings lead to 3-2.  The Wings looked a lot better than they have of late although it didn’t show on the shot chart.  It was an excellent 4-2 Wings win against a quality opponent.

Note: Andreas Athanasiou left the game with what looked to be a leg injury and only totaled 12:21 TOI.  It will be something to monitor over the next day or two.

dark. Next. We Want to Lose with the Kids

Impact Stats;

  • Dylan Larkin – 2 Assists, 20:19 TOI, 3 Shots
  • Jonathan Ericsson – 1 Goal, 19:02 TOI
  • Mike Green – 1 Assist, 3 Shots, 24:02
  • Tyler Bertuzzi 1 Goal, Plus 2, 15:50 TOI
  • Jonathan Bernier – 28 Saves, 2 Goals Against, .933% Save Percentage
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