Tatar’s hat trick helps Red Wings snap four-game skid (with photos)
By @StefanKubus –
DETROIT – There couldn’t have been a better time for Tomas Tatar’s first career hat trick.
A team desperately seeking offense, Tatar led Detroit out of a four-game slump with a 6-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night. Dylan Larkin, Xavier Ouellet and Frans Nielsen also scored for the Wings, while Petr Mrazek stopped 21 shots in net. The Red Wings’ six goals set a new season high in the process.
“It’s perfect timing,” Tatar said. “The team needs this lift. We need these two points, they’re really hard, so it’s great timing.”
Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said that an outbreak like that for Tatar, who now has seven goals on the season, can be a springboard into the next set of games.
“You just have to keep grinding,” Blashill said. “Tats has to come out Monday and play with the same compete level. As a hockey team, we’ve gotta come out and play with the same compete level. I thought for us to be a great hockey ream, we’re gonna have to have ultra, ultra, ultra compete. We can’t have good compete. I thought to night we had ultra compete. Both Tats and the rest of our team are gonna have to do that on Monday. ”
Players with Michigan ties accounted for four goals and three helpers on the night, including Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell (Plymouth Whalers) who potted two of those goals. Though Rakell found the scoresheet, the Red Wings were able to keep his linemates, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, off it.
“(Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening and Larkin) went up against Getzlaf all night, I thought Sheahan was excellent,” Blashill said. “The one thing he and I talked about was doing a great job making them defend, making sure we’re above them, frustrating them. I thought he did an excellent job. And then it frees up other guys to play against other lines. I thought the other lines did a real good job.”
Rakell opened the scoring just 3:41 into the game. The 23-year-old Plymouth Whalers alum took a great feed down low from defenseman Sami Vatanen at the point during a power play and had an empty net to redirect the puck into. For Rakell, it marked his 13th goal and 20th point of the season in his 21st game.
Shea Theodore made it a 2-0 game with 9:43 to play in the opening period, another tally with the man advantage. Though Detroit challenged the call on the basis of the play being offsides, it was determined to be a good goal.
After going down a pair of goals, Wings forward Steve Ott decided to try and swing momentum toward his team. Ott dropped the gloves with Ducks forward Joseph Cramarossa in a spirited bout.
And it seemingly worked, as Tatar responded for Detroit to pull the Wings to within one, his fifth of the season. Tatar started the play by driving the net, and the puck was poked out toward the point where Green picked it up and fired a low shot on goal. Tatar then banged home the rebound to put Detroit on the board.
At the 5:16 mark of the second period, the Ducks scored a gorgeous all-Michigan goal courtesy of Fowler. After receiving a stretch pass to nearly break free, Kesler drew the only two defenders in sight, dropped the puck between his legs to a trailing Cogliano, and Cogliano hit Fowler coming late. Fowler fired a shot high on the far side.
“That’s one thing I was hoping I could check off my list,” Fowler said. “I haven’t scored in this building before. It was a special one. I wish I could’ve done it in a win, but nevertheless, it was a fun moment while it lasted, but not for the team obviously.”
Tatar then scored one of the most bizarre goals all season, as he dumped in a puck off the end boards. The puck rebounded off the boards, came back and hit Bernier in the pad and bounced in the net.
Larkin’s team-leading 10th of the season evened things up at three aside not long after, though it wasn’t originally for certain. After Glendening cut to the middle on a rush down the left side, his shot attempt was deflected in the slot and the puck bounced off a crashing Larkin and in. Larkin did run into Bernier on the way in, but it was determined there was no goaltender interference after an Anaheim challenge.
Ouellet gave Detroit the lead late in the period with his first of the season, as Thomas Vanek set him up in the high slot. With four goals on the night, the Wings had topped their total (three) in the previous four games at that juncture heading into the third period.
And at 4:51 of the third period, Tatar completed his hat trick, the first of his career. Thanks to a strong forecheck by Anthony Mantha, a Ducks defenseman coughed up the puck and Tatar ended up all alone in front to bury his third of the game.
But Anaheim wasn’t out of it just then, as Rakell struck back with his second of the game at less than two minutes later to pull Anaheim to within one once again – he came down the right side, made a nice toe-drag move and fired a wrister through a screen that beat Mrazek.
Nielsen then potted his seventh of the season to give Detroit a two-goal lead again and the final 6-4 score.
At the very end of the game, Green left for Detroit after taking a hit from Kesler. There was no immediate update on his status.
With the win, the Red Wings are able to embark on their three-game road trip on a positive note.
“We’ve played well on the road,” Ott said. “I think the guys are kind of excited to get going and we have a tough, tough schedule now coming up. It doesn’t get any easier, but it’s good timing to leave on a positive note here and take that to the road and continue to push forward.”