Stars 5 – Wings 2. Don’t flip out!

UPDATE: Biega is in and Svechnikov is out.

First Period

Who doesn’t love the Stars all white with green star outline uniforms? Everyone. Here we go. 3 minutes in and it’s 1-0 Stars. Tanner Kero scores with Jamie Benn doing the legwork.

Wings aren’t rattled and get a funny bounce off a Hronek shot that is closer to going in than it should have been. GOTCHA! The Wings are in fact are rattled as Jason Robertson makes it 2-0 Stars two minutes after the first goal.

Larkin is at least working hard, as usual, and has been involved in a couple of scoring chances (the best ones) for the Wings.

Stecher goes clank off the post. Would love to see it in the net but it was a snappy wrister and nice to see him supporting the forwards.

Can we overcome a two-goal deficit? Well, we don’t have to find out because Joe Pavelski scores and it’s 3-0 Stars. We held out a whole 10 minutes between goals!!

Vladdy said I’d have a scrap with Vatanen with 2:24 to go. Not sure what sparked it but they HAD WORDS. So he will take his turn in the Bad Boy Box and Vatanen went down the tunnel. 4v4 hockey leaves 20 seconds at full strength to end the period.

We trudge back to the locker room down 3-0 in Dallas. Bernier hung out to dry but he’s used to that by now. Defense zone coverage was…lacking, to say the least.

Second Period

Wings start fast, crashing the net in the first minute. The correct net, to be clear. They are not crashing into Bernier.

They do however make sure Bernier isn’t too comfy by allowing Andrew Cogliano to have a little breakaway and Bernier goes sliiiiiiiiide to try and cut off the angle. Thank you goalpost for making the rest of the save.

The goalpost does not make the next save. Defense fails again, two Wings can’t manage to cover Jamie Oleksiak right in front of Bernier despite standing right there. 4-0 Dallas four minutes in.

Bernier is pulled and is probably going to go break some glassware. Not his fault just ejecting him out of his misery. Greiss is in.

Just over a minute later and, brace yourselves, VALTTERI FILPPULA SHOOTS THE PUCK!! ON PURPOSE!! AND SCORES!! Vrana sets em up and Val knocks em down. Top corner snipe and here come the Red Wings. 4-1 Dallas.

Halfway through the period and I’m afraid to praise the Wings because then Dallas will score and I will have to cross it out.

Five to go and we are still hanging in there.

IT’S TIME FOR A RRRRRRED WINGS POWERPLAY! Rhett Gardner to the Crimes Corral. The penalty is killed. One-shot on goal. Yikes.

We’ll end the period with another scrap. LARKIN THROWS DOWN ESA LINDELL.

Third Period

About 2 minutes in and Red Wings are on the PK as Vladdy takes another trip to the Punishment Pen. Red Wings get a shorthanded shot away from Rasmussen, good for him. Then Ras clears the puck and Helm gets a lighter version of the Hasek-Gaborik special. Oettinger gets called for tripping and Mick is mad that it’s a penalty at all. But we’ll take it. Wings get 1:30 of powerplay time.

Now that’s what I call an Otter Pop.

Penalty or not it did give Bally an excuse to show the Hasek-Gaborik play a couple of times which is always worth watching.

Penalty killed and back to 5v5.

The Wings do not have a SOG this period.

Halfway through. Still 4-1. Dylan Larkin, who would never, is imprisoned for high-sticking in the Rascal Room. Red Wings to the penalty kill. Now the Wings have one SOG. Penalty killed!

5 minutes to go and Greiss heads to the bench.

LARKIN SCOOOOOORES. 4-2 Dallas. I believe the technical description for that goal is “squeaked one through”.

3 minutes.

Wings can’t get themselves forward momentum and Greiss is still in the net.

2 minutes and Greiss gets to the bench.

Larkin gets tangled up and goes down. Looks like a lower-body issue as he immediately heads over to the bench hunched over in pain.

1 minute and Blake Comeau gets the ENG. 5-2 Stars.

FINAL: 5-2 Stars.