Red Wings beat Penguins on last-second OT goal
By Stefan Kubus –
DETROIT – In a battle of the NHL’s most wounded teams, Detroit came out on top with less than a second remaining on the clock in a wild one at Joe Louis Arena Thursday night.
Led by Daniel Alfredsson’s two-goal night, Jimmy Howard’s 39-save performance and a big penalty kill late in the game, the Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime, 5-4. Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar and Todd Bertuzzi also scored for the Red Wings, who locked down a crucial two points in the Eastern Conference wild card race.
“We know that pretty much every game we play is gonna go down to the wire,” Alfredsson said. “There’s not gonna be any easy wins. Winning like this two in a row, late in games, gives you confidence.”
Despite Pittsburgh having 421 man-games lost to injury and Detroit with 323, numbers one and two in the league respectively, both teams fought to the end in a playoff-like battle.
“We made some mistakes, they made mistakes, but we stayed with it and found a way to win the game,” Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. “It was a big win for us. We knew going in, we were going to be under siege at times, and I thought our guys battled real hard.”
The Red Wings were buzzing in the first period with lots of opportunities. Grand Rapids native Luke Glendening used his speed to separate himself from the Pittsburgh defense for a breakaway early on, but Fleury stopped the bid for his first NHL goal.
Later in the period, Johan Franzen entered the Penguins zone, dropped the puck to Alfredsson, continued driving to the net and Alfredsson buried his 16th of the season after a quick, pump-fake move that fooled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to extend his point streak to three games.
“Alfie is irreplaceable right now,” Tatar said. “He’s been a great leader, helping the coaches, a really important piece for us right now.”
Just 4:35 into the second period, Nyquist centered the puck from below the hashmarks to the left of Fleury. The puck bounced in the net off defenseman Rob Scuderi’s stick for Nyquist’s 20th of the season and fourth in three games.
Things looked good for Detroit, but Pittsburgh turned the tide just past the halfway point of the middle frame.
First, Lee Stempniak’s tip on a Chris Kunitz point shot found its way past Jimmy Howard to draw within one. At 15:17, Evgeni Malkin managed to stuff in his 20th goal of the season at the side of the net to tie the game, 2-2. Two minutes later on a 5-on-3, Malkin stepped into a booming slap shot right between the circles for his 21st of the season and second of the period.
Halfway through the third period, rookie defenseman Olli Maatta tripped up over his defense partner while backing up at center ice, giving Riley Sheahan and Tatar a 2-on-1. Sheahan sent a saucer pass to Tatar, and an even better finish by Tatar knotted the game at three aside. Then, shortly after, Bertuzzi threw a puck on net that bounced off Maatta and in the net to re-establish the lead for Detroit.
“It feels good, those bounces and especially feels good because of the two points,” Tatar said.
Brandon Sutter, who had a breakaway attempt stopped by Howard earlier in the game, won a puck battle behind the Red Wings’ net and dished a pass right out front to Craig Adams who banged it home to re-tie the game at four aside.
Then, with just 3:46 remaining, Legwand took a five-minute major for butt-ending Malkin in the midsection behind the play. It took some scrambling after failed clears, close calls and key shot blocks, but Detroit managed to kill off the first portion to get to overtime and earn one big point.
In overtime, Detroit killed the remainder of the major penalty, a 4-on-3 situation, before going on the offensive themselves.
“Their PP is really dangerous, but our PK was outstanding tonight,” Tatar said.
In the final seconds, Alfredsson came down the right wing and ripped a shot on goal. The rebound bounced off Fleury, then off a Pittsburgh player next to him and in the net with less than one second on the clock. After video review, it was confirmed to have crossed the line before time expired.
“A big break for us,” Alfredssson said. “The rebound goes off their ‘D’ and in, so we’ll take it gladly today.”
With the win, Detroit jumps to 77 points, one behind the New York Rangers, currently sitting in the second wild card spot.
“Everything is magnified at this time of year, the way it is, how tight it is,” Alfredsson said. “If you’re a hockey fan, it’s great times. If you’re cheering for one of the teams on the bubble, it’s nervous times not only for players, but for fans, as well.”
Notes: With his 228th career assist on the goal, Niklas Kronwall moved into 21st all-time by himself in Detroit’s all-time assist leaders, passing Marcel Dionne. Kronwall notched an assist on Tuesday against Toronto to tie Dionne, but now holds the spot to himself… Jakub Kindl played in his 200th NHL game… Ray Ferraro was on hand again to watch son, Landon, play for Detroit.