Detroit Red Wings douse Flames for fifth straight victory

The Detroit Red Wings are taking their momentum and snowballing it game after game. After a victory against Edmonton in the shootout, the team came out and got it done again in Calgary. Even with a bit of a sluggish start to the game, they came through.

The Detroit Red Wings took home their fifth straight victory after defeating the Flames in Alberta in their second game in as many nights. The offense continued to get it done, beating Calgary tonight by a score of 5-2.

It’s been a long stretch for the Red Wings of staying on the ice between the home set against the three Canadian teams, and now the start of this road trip. However, they continue to get the job done and find ways to win.

The Red Wings continue to do things right and keep themselves in the playoff push game in and out. Let’s talk through Thursday night’s contest against the Flames.

Detroit Red Wings capture their fifth-straight win in Calgary.

1st Period

The Flames struck first. On a Detroit Red Wings power play, a bit of mishandling with the puck by Magnus Hellberg resulted in a tough goal. Michael Backlund forced a rushed pass which resulted in a feed out front to Elias Lindholm, who was able to direct it past Hellberg for the tally, giving the Red Wings the lead while they were short-handed. Ultimately a lack of communication from the Red Wings’ defense core made things harder on Hellberg, which led to the Flames’ goal.

Late in the first period, with 1:10 remaining, the Red Wings were able to even things up at one after Dominik Kubalik let one rip to find the back of the net and beat Vladar. After winning a puck battle along the boards, forward Tyler Bertuzzi was able to get the puck on his stick and send a pass to Kubalik. He buried the puck in the back of the net with a wrist shot through a screen to even things up. Here’s the goal…

During the first period, things were a bit worrisome. While the goal to tie things at one was a big one, the team looked sluggish early on. No one is faulting them, given its game three of the road trip and their second game in as many nights, but the Red Wings need to keep the momentum going to try and fend off Calgary as long as possible.

2nd Period

The Detroit Red Wings were able to strike first in the second period. After a power-play from a cross-check on David Perron, the Red Wings got things going. It was Robby Fabbri who let one rip into the back of the net to give Detroit a 2-1 lead early in the second.

A chip from David Perron got the puck to Dylan Larkin, who sent a pass across the seam through the middle to Fabbri, who let a wrister go to beat Vladar for the tally. Here’s the goal…

Also of note, Red Wings forward David Perron tallied his 700th point with his assist on the Fabbri goal!

The Flames would answer back around the period’s midpoint to tie things up at two. A bad defensive position from the Red Wings defenders led to another goal. Dillon Dube took off with the puck and was able to beat Hellberg. It was not the best goal to give up from Hellberg, who let Dube easily beat him short-side and high to find the back of the net for the goal.

The Red Wings were not going to surrender, though. They picked up another goal late in the second period to give themselves a 3-2 lead. It was another great puck battle won by Bertuzzi, who won the physical battle behind the net and shed some blood because of it. He got the puck out front to Dylan Larkin, who made a great feed to Kubalik. A quick release from Kubalik sent one hard into the back of the net for his second tally of the night. Here’s the goal…

They were not finished either. The Red Wings gave themselves a 4-2 lead before the end of the second period. After a pristine operation from the Red Wings power-play unit, Tyler Bertuzzi de-directed the puck into the back of the net for the goal. A great setup all around from Perron to Bertuzzi, to Larkin, to Fabbri, who sent it back in front for Bertuzzi to re-direct. Here’s the goal…

The Red Wings shook off the sluggish start from the first period and put together a solid second frame. They continue to find the offense and get things going with four goals through the first 40 minutes with a power-play unit that keeps getting it done.

3rd Period

After being the hero in Edmonton during the shootout, it was Pius Suter who extended the Red Wings’ lead even further. He had a nice drop pass from Filip Zadina to set things up, letting one rip to beat Vladar between the legs. Suter’s tally gave the Red Wings a 5-2 lead early in the third period. Here’s the goal…

They were able to hold onto the 5-2 lead the rest of the way and cross the finish line. This helped the Red Wings pick up their fifth straight win after closing the door on the Flames to cap off the victory.

That concludes the Canadian part of the road trip and the “Western Canada series” they just played. They’ll stay on the road for two more games as they head further West once again to face off against Seattle on Saturday.