In the midst of a six-game west coast road trip, the Red Wings haven’t lost in regulation yet. They are halfway through, winning two and losing one in a shootout.
The shootout came in Anaheim Monday night.
Pavel Datsyuk broke open a scoreless game in the second period with an unassisted goal. He stole the puck and took it straight to the net, draining a one-timer. Not much later, Detroit found themselves on a power play. Justin Abdelkader made a great pass to Datsyuk, who again cashed it in. We almost scored a third time on an additional penalty before the period closed.
I don’t even want to admit what happened next. I had a headache and sat out the third period for quite some time. When the TV came back on, a true nightmare occurred: a 3-2 deficit? Upon review, the Ducks had gotten back-to-back goals when Jimmy Howard stopped an initial shot, only to have it ricochet back to the shooter.
Luckily, Riley Sheahan saved the Wings from disaster. Gustav Nyquist faked a shot with five minutes to go, then passed to a wide open Sheahan, who blazed the puck past Anaheim’s goalie and into the back of the net. He saved a point in a game we really dominated.
We outskated the hell out of our opponent in overtime, to no avail. I’d have watched twenty minutes of four-on-four hockey. When the skills are as high as they are in Detroit, all that open space makes it a joy to watch. We eventually lost in the shootout 2-1. Nyquist scored, but a few snuck past Jimmy.
We’ll back back tomorrow night in Los Angeles. Adjust those clock radios, Red Wings fans!