Red Wings hold Devils to only 11 shots, win 3-1 Friday night
By Nick Barnowski –
Tomas Tatar picked up two points and Jonas Gustavsson only had to make 10 saves as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 Friday night at the Prudential Center.
Tatar scored his sixth of the season late in the final frame and assisted on Johan Franzen’s game winning goal at 12:40 in the third to power Detroit to victory.
The Red Wings (15-8-7) as a team gave up only 11 shots on goal in the game, setting a new season low. Detroit fired 21 shots on New Jersey’s (11-13-6) Cory Schneider, who made 18 saves. Gustavsson, who got the start on the road over Jimmy Howard, improved his season record to 8-0-1 as Detroit’s backup.
The Devils got on the board first at the 13:43 mark of the opening period. With Franzen in the penalty box for high sticking, Patrik Elias broke into the Detroit zone with the puck on his stick and centered it from the left-hand side. Andy Greene was there to tip the puck past Gustavsson to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.
Detroit didn’t respond until late in the second period and Joakim Andersson answering for bell with only 36 seconds left. Drew Miller fired a shot at Schnieder from behind the red line that bounced off the New Jersey goalie and sat in the crease for Andersson to direct into the wide open net. It was Andersson’s fourth of the season and his first goal in 15 games.
From the second period on the Wings controlled the game and took the lead on Franzen’s ninth of the year. Tatar made a nice pass to Gustav Nyquist from behind the net, and he then dished it cross-ice in front of the crease to Franzen who shot it past Schneider to give the Wings a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Franzen’s goal extended his point streak to six games (three goals, five assists).
Tatar’s goal came on the power play after Schneider took a delay of game penalty for playing the puck outside of the trapezoid. On the ensuing faceoff, New Jersey won the draw but mishandled the puck, allowing Tatar to grab it and unleash a snap shot from the inside hash mark that went top shelf and left the net almost as fast as it entered.
The Red Wings will take on the Florida Panthers tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena in the first matchup between the two teams this season.