NHL 20 Simulation: Red Wings Show Grit; Lose in OT to Boston
Continuing our NHL 20 simulation of the Detroit Red Wings season due to the postponed season.
BOSTON – The Detroit Red Wings cannot get in the win column.
But at least it wasn’t the loss column Tuesday night inside the TD Garden in Boston. The Red Wings, losers of four-straight games coming into this one and traveling from a mini west coast trip with stops in Arizona and Las Vegas, were surprisingly active.
Was it the two days off? Maybe. Was it the hunger to end the losing streak? Maybe.
Detroit peppered Tukka Rask with 28 shots and were the enforcers most of the night, but it was quality over quantity that did the Red Wings in.
While there’s no doubt Jimmy Howard played well with what he faced, the Boston bruins only mustered up 13 shots – two of which went in – to beat the Red Wings 2-1 in overtime.
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This one was a nail-biter, which hasn’t been the case too often for a Detroit team that regularly gets destroyed. With the team down one after a second period goal from Bruins forward Brad Marchand, the Red Wings brought even more pressure.
Still, they couldn’t get it past Vezina Trophy candidate Rask. Until Howard went to the bench, that is.
With Detroit pressing up the extra man, Darren Helm was hooked on the play. Before Boston could even touch the puck and go into the penalty box, Adam Erne made a nice play out front of Rask to get it over to the lethal offensive weapon Anthony Mantha, who made the Bruins pay…until overtime.
In the extra session (the first Red Wings point in five games), the disastrous season continued.
Bruins forward David Krejci rocketed a slapshot that went off Valtteri Filppula’s butt – causing a dash for the loose puck – which was wristed into the net by former Michigan State defenseman and Royal Oak native Torey Krug.
The Red Wings keeping it close versus Boston and the Golden Knights shows the parody in the National Hockey League, but they aren’t quite there yet.
They likely won’t be there Thursday, either, but none-the-less, they return home to Little Caesars Arena for a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.