Red Wings take Game 3 at home, take series lead in the process

 

By Michael Caples –

DETROIT – In a span of 31 seconds during the second period, the Detroit Red Wings took control of their game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

With a little help from Pavel Datsyuk in the third, they took control of the entire series.

Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored 31 seconds apart just before the halfway mark of the second period, and Pavel Datsyuk added a highlight-reel goal in the third, as the Red Wings picked up a 3-1 win over the Blackhawks Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.

With the win, the Red Wings take a 2-1 series lead. Since their lopsided 4-1 Game 1 loss, Detroit has outscored Chicago 7-2 to even, and then take control of, their Western Conference semifinal series.

“I think getting the split in the Chicago was huge, and then we wanted to take care of business here at home,” Miller said. “We won the first one, and now we’ve got to put this one behind us and look forward to the next game, see things that we can adjust or do better or keep building off the positive things too.”

 

Jimmy Howard was perfect through 40 minutes of play, and allowed only a single goal to Patrick Kane, while stopping 39 of 40 shots.

Nyquist broke open the scoring at the 7:49 mark of the second period, finishing off a play that started off a face-off win from Joakim Andersson, and ended with Nyquist deking out both Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford.

“Andy wins the draw off to the boards, Brunner gets it out, great job by him lifting it out, and I’m kind of crossing off, pushing the pace and trying to make a move on the ‘D’,” Nyquist said after the game. “Went around him, kind of faked a shot, tried to get Crawford down a little bit, and then go around him, and fortunately it went in this time.”

Miller increased the Wings’ lead just 31 seconds later, burying a rebound after Cory Emmerton picked off a pass, and set up Patrick Eaves for multiple shots on goal.

“You always want to go out there after you get a goal and get a big push, and they turned the puck over there to Emmer,” Miller said. “He got it down to Patty, couple shots on net, and the puck was laying there right there by the goal line for me to put it in. I have to credit my linemates, they did a lot of work for me there, but nonetheless, it’s a big goal for our team, and we kind of kept rolling from there.”

Yet none of it would have ever happened had the Red Wings not been able to hold the Blackhawks scoreless during a length stretch with no line change. After Detroit killed off a Brendan Smith penalty early in the second, the Blackhawks continued to pressure, preventing the Wings from making a line change. Miller and Jonathan Ericsson were stuck on the ice for 3:15 without a change, but they, along with Eaves, Kronwall and Howard, stood tall and eventually found a way to get a whistle.

“I’d like to forget that one, that was a long one,” Miller said. “You get stuck on the penalty kill like that, it’s tough to get off. You just try to stay tight and I think guys, everyone was blocking shots and trying to get the puck out. Jimmy made some big saves there, so I think the key to that is just trying to survive that, get through it, and get off the ice as fast as you can.”

Ericsson said he actually could have stayed on the ice longer.

“Yeah, but I was more tired like after a minute and a half, two minutes, and then I kind of recharged my batteries because I was standing still for like 15 seconds,” the Wings’ defenseman said. “I could get some deep breaths and kind of get going again. I could have stayed out a little bit longer.”

 

After the penalty kill and the ensuing goals, it was Datsyuk who struck next, and it came in the third period. Johan Franzen carried the puck into the Chicago end, drew the Blackhawks’ attention, and then sent a pass to Datsyuk. The Red Wings’ superstar managed a shot that beat Crawford shortside in remarkable fashion – a highlight-reel goal that gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead.

“Great shot,” captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “We’ve seen it before. I don’t know if it hit Mule or not before it went in. It was just a great play, i think from Mule passed out to Pav. Seen that before.”

It would be the final goal of the game, as the Red Wings aggravated the Blackhawks for the duration of the third period. It was evident throughout the contest that the top-seeded Blackhawks are frustrated with the Red Wings’ play.

“Yeah, I think as the game went on, definitely you could see some of the frustration coming out,” Ericsson said. “After whistles they were maybe paying too much attention to us, or doing things after whistles, but that’s a good indication for us. If we can get them frustrated, we want to do that all day then.”