Datsyuk’s goal leads Wings to a date with the Predators
By Michael Caples –
DETROIT – With one shot, Pavel Datsyuk decided which team the Red Wings would be playing in the first round of the playoffs.
The Detroit star, on the receiving end of a brilliant pass from Tomas Holmstrom, scored with 47 seconds remaining in regulation to tie their game with the Blackhawks at 2-2.
Despite losing 3-2 in the shootout, the Wings earned the one point they needed to stay above Chicago in the standings. That means Detroit will finish in fifth place in the standings, and start the 2012 playoffs in Nashville against the Predators.
“It’s great,” coach Mike Babcock said. “We don’t have to travel across the country, which to me is the biggest thing; when you’re down 2-0, you start thinking that you might have to travel across the country. Every match-up in the league is tough, so to me, the less travel you have, the better off you are. We know Nashville good, they know us good, it will be fun going down to their building, it’s always exciting down there, we’ve played some good games in there this year, so that should be a lot of fun, and we look forward to it.”
For the majority of the contest, it appeared that the Red Wings would be staying up late to find out which team they would be taking on. Had they lost in regulation to the Blackhawks, they would end up in sixth place, and face the winner of the Pacific Division.
Viktor Stalberg scored halfway through the first period for the Blackhawks, and Andrew Shaw gave them a two-goal lead late in the second.
Yet the Wings found new life in the third, when Johan Franzen fired a shot along the boards at the hashmarks that somehow got through Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford. Franzen’s 29th of the season came at the 8:11 mark of the third period, and it pulled the Wings within a goal of the regulation tie they needed.
The Wings were unable to take advantage of the momentum swing from the Franzen goal. Then, with less than a minute to go in regulation, Holmstrom managed to get his stick on a rebound, and slide a pass between his legs and through the crease to a wide-open Datsyuk. The Wings’ All-Star fired it into an empty net for his 19th goal of the season, tying the game at the 19:13 mark.
Patrick Kane’s goal in the shootout turned out to be the difference-maker, which prevented the Wings from a chance at home ice in the first round. However, the Wings seem to be pleased simply with the fact that they won’t have to fly to the west coast to start the postseason.
“I think it’s good,” goaltender Jimmy Howard said. “We dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole there in the first two periods, but we found a way to come back and save ourselves some air miles. Now we’re not having to go out to the west coast, but we’ve got our work cut out for us. Nashville’s gotten a lot better, they’re a real good team, and they’ve got a great goalie.”
NOTEBOOK: Riley Sheahan played in his first NHL game for the Red Wings, and took a four-minute high-sticking penalty in his first shift. Justin Abdelkader also got a four-minute high-sticking penalty in the contest…Patrick Sharp had the primary assist on both of the Chicago goals…Franzen’s goal was unassisted…Henrik Zetterberg had eight shots on goal to lead all players.