DeKeyser, Abdelkader score for Red Wings in 2-1 victory at San Jose
By Tyler Barnes –
Petr Mrazek made his fourth consecutive start Thursday night, and he carried the Red Wings to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Danny Dekeyser scored for the Wings, while Justin Abdelkader added the game-winning goal to start off Detroit’s Western Conference road swing with an important victory. With the win, the Wings moved into third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 49 points – tied with Montreal for second in the Atlantic Division.
Mrazek stopped 35 of 36 San Jose shots on the night, including a game-saving stop on Joel Ward in the third period. As Ward found the puck out front, he made a move to his backhand. With Mrazek seemingly beat, he reached back with the paddle of his stick and somehow made the save.
On the ensuing rush, Pavel Datsyuk carried the puck down low and threw a backhand on goal that caught Sharks goaltender Martin Jones up high. The bouncing rebound came out front and as Tomas Tatar fanned on his attempt, Justin Abdelkader was there to blast a slapshot into the back of the net.
It was the momentum-swinging moment for the Wings, as they seized control of the contest with the wild span of events.
Mrazek’s save on Ward just seconds before the Abdelkader goal. #RedWings #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/O8taqEQlqX
— Stefan Kubus (@StefanKubus) January 8, 2016
Dekeyser scored his third goal of the season at 9:16 of the first period after a nice passing play between Larkin and Zetterberg. Larkin made a nice touch pass to Zetterberg in the neutral-zone and the captain fed Dekeyser with a nice backhand saucer pass to send him in alone. Dekeyser wired a shot over the glove of Martin Jones to put Detroit up 1-0.
Less than two minutes later the Sharks would tie the game.
After a faceoff in the Detroit zone, the Sharks would gain control and get the puck to Brent Burns at the point. The grizzled defensemen would fire a slap-shot that was deflected by Joel Ward to beat Mrazek.
The Detroit penalty kill came up big, killing off two penalties in the first period, and one early in the second to set the tone for the rest of the game.
Things got chippy in the closing moments, as Joe Thornton was given 14 minutes in penalties after he had a disagreement with Luke Glendening after the final buzzer had sounded.
Drew Miller returned to the lineup after suffering a broken jaw and missing 14 games. The team hopes to get defensemen Kyle Quincey back from an ankle injury on this road trip as well.
The win pulls Detroit even with Montreal in the Atlantic division, still five points back of a red-hot Florida Panthers team who has won 11 straight games.
The Wings get a few days to rest before returning to the ice to take on the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.