We sure needed a win around here.
With the all star break just days away, the Red Wings hosted the Sharks for their final home game of January. It perhaps wasn’t the prettiest performance for the home team but it was certainly encouraging to see certain players perform well.
1st Period
Detroit and San Jose exchanged possessions in this period. That’s for sure. Lots of back-and-forth play but it started to get chippy at the midway point. That produced two minutes of four-on-four hockey, which opened up the ice a little on both sides. The Red Wings had their fair share of chances but had a handful of misses.. That includes a shortside attempt on an open net for David Perron.
The coolest thing that happened in the first had to be Moritz Seider sending Erik Karlsson to the phantom zone:
Late stages included a power play for the Red Wings. At first they had a real issue with pulling the trigger and finally when they figured out — there comes a couple of big missed opportunities. Scoreless through one.
- Jonatan Berggren took a penalty, but it was a pretty funny penalty to take
- Love to see the way Lucas Raymond is playing right now… Just need him to learn when it’s time to grip it and rip it
- Couple of real close calls for Ville Husso. Strong period overall
2nd Period
It should have been a much better period for Detroit, but a long shift in the late stages capped off an offensive slugging match between both teams.
It all started with a goal from Adam Erne (!!!!!!) about two minutes it. The goal would be Erne’s first point in over a month, but the focus was on Dylan Larkin. He achieved the 400-point milestone with his primary assist on the 1-0 goal:
The Sharks would tie it thanks to a heads-up wraparound goal from Timo Meier about five minutes after Erne’s goal. Detroit managed to kill off a penalty shortly after the goal.
The offense flared again in the final five minutes of the period when Michael Rasmussen had a dandy recovery play that led to a short-side snipe for his eighth goal of the season:
It’s a real bummer that Detroit couldn’t hold onto a lead going into the second intermission. The Wings got caught in a way-too-long shift and ended up getting hemmed in while sucking on fumes. San Jose managed to tie it up with six seconds left on the clock. 2-2.
- Lucas Raymond spent some time in the tunnel/locker room to start the period. He returned eventually but it appeared to be lower body
- Husso, to his credit, came up with a couple of big saves
- Pretty decent game for Jordan Oesterle
3rd Period / OT
I was convinced the Wings were going to let this one get away by the looseness of their game in the final 20 minutes. I mean, it took one minute for the Sharks to take a penalty.. and the Wings looked good on the PP, but it was loose. Not pinned together.
Neither team managed a goal, obviously this had to be decided in OT.. But Michael Rasmussen played a major role in keeping his team in a position to win.
It didn’t take long for the Wings to put it away in extra time. It took Detroit 25 seconds to register the game-winning goal. Again, great play from Michael Rasmussen to clean up the garbage and get the puck to Andrew Copp:
FINAL: 3-2, Wings (OT)
I feel like the Wings might have gotten away with one here. They flew awfully close to the sun a couple of times but a win’s a win. Great game from Michael Rasmussen, who is no doubt our player of the game. I think Moritz Seider had one hell of a game as well.
Now we look ahead to Thursday and Friday on the road before some time off. Detroit really could use a strong finish headed into the all-star break. After this week, the Wings aren’t in action until February 7.