Miller scores game-winner in battle of the Spartans
By Michael Caples –
DETROIT – Drew Miller said he was rushing over to congratulate Darren Helm for what he thought was a goal for the Red Wings. Turned out, he was the one that needed to poke the puck into the net.
Miller knocked in a rebound at the 10:48 mark of the third period to break a 2-2 tie between the Red Wings and the Oilers – a goal that turned out to be the game-winner.
“I thought Helmer put it in, so I was going to celebrate with him,” Miller said. “I saw it was laying there, so it’s one of those ‘right place at the right time moments.’ But I’ll definitely take it. It ended up being a big goal, turned out to be the game-winner, so you want to help your team out in any way that you can.”
Johan Franzen, Cory Emmerton and Henrik Zetterberg all scored for the Wings, while Joey MacDonald made 15 saves to pick up the win. Sam Gagner had both of the Edmonton goals.
Making the win just a little bit sweeter for Miller (and Justin Abdelkader) was that he was competing against a trio of former Spartans on the visiting roster. Shawn Horcoff, Jeff Petry, and Corey Potter all dressed for the Oilers, and Miller said all five of the former Spartans are well aware of each other on the ice.
“Oh yeah. We all skate together in the summer, and they’re all very well aware that we’re out there, kind of give you a little stick or a nod ‘hi’, so it’s fun,” Miller said. “It’s pretty unique. I think last game in Edmonton all five of us were on the ice at once, and that was pretty cool.”
The goal was Miller’s 11th of the season, which marks a new personal best for the East Lansing native and former Spartan. The 27-year-old had scored 10 goals in each of the last two seasons with the Wings.
“Yeah, that beats my record I guess, so it’s pretty cool,” Miller said. “Hopefully I keep it going the rest of the season, get an opportunity to play more minutes and play on the third line, so you try to make the most of that. I’m trying to better myself each season, each game, and establish myself as an every-night guy.”
While he may not be competing for the Rocket Richard Trophy, Miller’s goals seem to always come at the right time. He’s got three game-winning tallies on the season, and eight in his career. Factor in that he has 37 career goals, and that means that 22 percent of the times that Miller has found the back of the net, it’s been in the form of the game-winner.
However, Miller’s more pleased to be helping the Wings continue their home win streak – which is now at 18 straight – than his own goal totals.
“The home win streak is really unique,” Miller said. “I don’t think we go into the games saying let’s do it to keep the streak, we’re just trying to establish our game at home, and play night in and night out the way we should play.”