Židlický Wins It In Debut

Going against one of the Eastern Conference's best and fastest teams, the Red Wings were in for a battle. All night the Rangers used their speed to create turnovers and force Detroit's defenders into poor positions. After Howard was asked to save the team on many different occasions, Nyquist drew a penalty with only 46 seconds left in the game. On the Power Play in overtime our new acquisition Marek Židlický did exactly what we brought him in for. After using his big shot to create a number of opportunities he found a rebound in front and put it in to give the Red Wings a big victory at the Joe.

To start the game the Rangers dominated zone time but missed shots allowed the Wings to survive some very sloppy play early. Despite being outplayed, after 6 minutes Hank forced a turnover in the offensive zone that ended up on the blue line where Big E fanned on a slap shot. Luckily, the puck ended up with Hank all alone in front who out-waited Talbot before passing it back across for Abby to put into an empty net. After the goal Rangers continued to test the Wings’ D with their speed and had 4 odd man rushes in the first period alone. The game’s first PP went to the Rangers after Weiss was called for taking down Yandle away from the play. In the 1^st minute the Wings did a great job of preventing zone entries and even forced an icing but the Rangers started to get more chances in the 2^nd half. Not long after the penalty, the Rangers 4^th line got some zone time against the Wings’ 4^th before Zidlicky took a penalty that led to the Rangers receiving a warning for diving. On the PP an attempted backdoor pass bounced off Quincey, allowing Girardi to poke it into the empty net to tie the game at 1.

The 2nd period was very even to start until the Rangers caught the Wings’ 4^th line and pinned them deep in the Detroit end. The Rangers’ top unit generated numerous chances and only some superb goaltending kept the game tied. Much of the Rangers’ in-zone offense comes due to their defenders’ being extremely aggressive in finding open space on the weak side. Many of the Wings’ forwards are caught puck watching while their man skated in behind them for a clean shot. After it seemed like the game was going to be all Rangers the Wings woke up and finally got some sustained pressure in the Rangers’ zone. Just before the end of the period the Rangers generated some grade A chances but some Jimmy Howard bailed his teammates out and kept it tied.

The third period started out well for the Wings, even the 4^th line started to get some offensive possessions. Eventually a Tatar rush forced the Rangers to take their first penalty and gave the Wings a big chance to take the lead. The Red Wings' PP did a good job of entering the zone but struggled to get set up and generate shots. After the penalty the Rangers took over and got a glorious chance as Ericsson was turned around in the defensive zone, thankfully Jimmy was up to the task. After the halfway point both teams really tightened up defensively, afraid to give up their point and end up with nothing. With 2 minutes left Brassard and Abby were called for matching minors and I prepared to finish the game 4-4. However with 46 seconds left Gus' incredible puck possession led to another penalty by the Rangers to give the Wings a 4-3 power play to start overtime

On the Power Play in overtime, the Red Wings used Židlický’s one time potential to their advantage. After a couple exceptional saves by Cam Talbot kept it tied, Židlický found a a rebound it front and hacked it up and over Talbot to give the Wings a big 2 points.

Observations:

Erik Cole seemed very out of place with his new line mates in his first game as a Red Wing. After the acquisition we were told that Hank preferred playing with bigger wingers which has struck me as odd. Early in this game we saw an example of why. Abby and Hank were dominate at possessing the puck in the corners, however this left Cole as the 3^rd guy high, a new experience for someone used to being the first man on the puck. As the game went on Cole seemed to get a little more comfortable through the neutral zone, but may be better suited for a line where he can be the first man in on the forecheck.

Poor Jurco finally gets a promotion to play with Datsyuk and Tatar but still can’t buy a goal. After a luck bounce Jurco ended up with two great shots in front but neither found their way into the net. While I still think he deserves to be playing with someone other than the 4th line, Jurco looks ill-suited to play with Datsyuk and Tatar. Despite his size, Jurco plays more like a skilled peripheral player while I think those two could use someone to help “pull the piano” and control play down low.

Although the Wings pride themselves on their speed the Rangers may be even faster. The visitors used this speed to push back the Wings’ defenders leaving a large gap in the neutral zone that lead to more successful breakouts and zone entries for New York. They were also using this speed to create opportunities off turnovers, resulting in numerous odd man rushes for the Rangers.

The Red Wings were outplayed for a majority of the game but Howard was back to All-Star form and the special teams were excellent. The result is a big two point and Detroit keeps on rolling.