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The Detroit Red Wings host the Ottawa Senators in the final week the the "Farewell to the Joe" on Monday April 3, 2017 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI. Andrew Knapik/MiHockeyNow
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Svechnikov’s shootout winner lifts Red Wings to thrilling win over Senators

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey

 

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT  — In a game that took extra time, the Red Wings put a minor dent in Ottawa’s playoff push by taking a much-needed second point from the Sens in a 5-4 shootout thriller.

Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist all scored for Detroit in regulation, while 20-year-old Evgeny Svechnikov scored the shootout winner in his NHL debut. Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on 45 shots, but stopped all seven shooters in the shootout.

“I just wanted to score so badly, it was so loud, and I was excited and, you know, just did my thing,” Svechnikov said of his backhand shootout winner.

Head coach Jeff Blashill said he liked his team’s start in the game overall.

“They obviously pushed real hard,” Blashill said. “I thought we didn’t do as good a job of getting out of our end in the later parts of the second. We go up 4-2 and kind of give them a goal there and also they had lots of momentum and they pushed hard. Obviously they’re playing for tons, so they were pushing real hard. Not good enough probably in the third there, but found a way to stick with it and found a way to win in the shootout.”

The Wings struck first in this one, as Nielsen potted his 16th of the season just 40 seconds into the second period. From behind the goal, Nielsen managed to bank a shot off a Senators defender and in the net behind Anderson.

But 1:06 later, Burrows evened things up with a fluttering shot off the stick of Tomas Tatar.

At the 6:57 mark, Larkin regained the lead for his squad, as he notched his 16th of the season, a shorthanded tally. Larkin took a Nick Jensen pass in the Ottawa zone on a rush and banked a shot off Anderson and in from below the goal line. For Jensen, it marked his second consecutive two-point game.

Ottawa’s star defender Erik Karlsson potted his 16th goal and 70th point of the season on a Sens power play just 51 seconds into the third period. Karlsson chased down a puck in the corner to the

At the 5:53 mark and with Karlsson in the sin bin, Nyquist batted home a power-play marker to put the Wings up by one. For Nyquist, it marked his 10th point in his last 10 games.

Nyquist added another shortly after, another power-play marker, to put Detroit up by a pair.

But it was Kyle Turris who pulled the Senators to within one once again, this time just 22 seconds after the second Nyquist tally.

And the Senators continued to fight back, as Fredrik Claesson fired a bomb from the point right off a face off with 7:39 to play in the tilt – a shot that beat Mrazek high on the glove side.

An electrifying overtime frame, despite a number of end-to-end chances, couldn’t produce a winner.

“I thought the overtime was great, it’s a great example of what 3-on-3 can provide,” Blashill said. “I mean the entertainment value was unbelievable from a fan. It wasn’t great as coaches, but I thought Petr was excellent in the shootout and overtime.”

In the shootout, Svechnikov scored in the seventh round with a backhand beauty, a move he said he had success with in Grand Rapids this season. Mrazek, meanwhile, didn’t allow a single goal in the shootout.

“I can say first that it’s a little bit faster for myself and for some guys it’s different,” Svechnikov said of the difference between the NHL and AHL. “I think it’s a lot faster, it’s for sure stronger and I think guys are in the right spots everywhere.”

Notes: Svechnikov was the Red Wings’ first-round (19th overall) draft pick in 2015, … Svechnikov had recorded 18 goals and 44 points – both good for fourth on the team – in 68 games with Grand Rapids in his first AHL season prior to the call-up.