Hurricanes at Red Wings – The Recap

So, it has been a couple days since this game happened – it probably won’t be as in depth as the others, or maybe it will – who really knows?  I am just starting to put things together, as I have been consuming a lot of content recently with the upcoming trade deadline.  That, and doing a podcast the night of a game made things a little tricky to get the blog out the door.  That said, I did take some notes and am prepared to go through them.

Going into this game, we had come off a win against Calgary to start to create maybe an ounce of separation in the Metro Division.  Any breathing room helps.  My hope was that we could play some steady hockey on the defensive end and get back to some confidence on the offensive side of the puck.  Additionally, our power-play has been powerless – we need to get that going sooner rather than later.

Below are my thoughts on the game:

• The line combinations appear to be intact from the game against Calgary – much to my delight.  Specifically, seeing the Hall-Kotkaniemi-Blake line playing together makes me excited.
• Early on, the Svechnikov-Staal-Martinook and Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis lines played in the attacking zone for long stretches, generating a couple good looks.  The puck possession and zone time on display early in this one was great to see.
• That is all to say the Red Wings got two 2-on-1 breakaway opportunities, both snuffed out by our defense (Slavin) and goaltending (we got Freddie in net).
• The Wings drew a penalty, and we get right to work killing it.  Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis had some decent zone time for the first minute of the kill, then the Red Wings got to work attacking – Andersen made some solid saves, and we were able to get out of the kill not giving up a goal.  One thing I’ll say – their puck movement is superb on the power play.  It could very well be why they are ranked 2^nd in the league in that category.
• Within a couple minutes we drew a power play.  And the differences in the two power play units couldn’t be more apparent.  Pass, dust, pass, dust, past – poke out of the zone – re-entry.  We did get a couple of chances (3 shots on goal in total), but the pace is far slower than what the Red Wings have.  We threw Roslovic and Blake up on the 1^st unit with Rantanen and Aho and then sent Jarvis and Svechnikov with Kotkaniemi and Hall to form the 2^nd unit.  I don’t mind the tweaks – I mind the pace and the urgency.  Still scoreless.
• Freddie Andersen had a solid outing in this one, making calm, confident saves throughout the night.  He’s strung together a couple solid showings.
• Another solid night – one Jaccob Slavin.  Man was he impressive.  There were countless times in this one (well, you can probably count them – there were a lot) where Slavin was busting up a play in the neutral zone, getting between a 2-on-1 to stop a breakaway and being an absolute puck hound at the blue line as the Red Wings tried to enter the zone.  One play in the 3^rd period, Slavin stops Alex DeBrincat (who was quiet most of the night – see, star players can have quiet games folks) on a great play to dislodge the puck, likely thwarting a chance for them.   Overall, a great night for Slavin.
• An appreciation post for Jesperi Kotkaniemi as well – he did a lot of the “non stat sheet” kind of work, going a staggering 7 for 8 in the faceoff circle (87.5% win rate).  Additionally, he had some solid, smart clears, good stick plays in the defensive end to break up would be chances, blocked shots and was using his body well to finish checks and position himself. 
• The Rantanen-Aho-Jarvis line was noticeable most of the night but hadn’t really seen the rewards for the work being done, generating good chances. The result of one of those shifts leads to a bump shift by the Staal line.  Jalen Chatfield pinched and eventually stole the puck from Mo Seider, then backhanded the puck to the middle of the ice where he found Jordan Martinook open – he went forehand, backhand for the goal.  1-0 good guys.
• Brent Burns wasn’t noticeable or unnoticeable – just steady.  Keep stacking games sir. 
• Jordan Staal puts us up 2-0 – Jordan Martinook got the puck in deep where Alex Lyon tried to handle, only to fumble it and Staal was right there to wrap it around for a goal.  Good pressure by Staal and good work by Martinook just following the recipe. 
• I felt as though the referees were calling some softies during the game, but never once did I hear a “refs you suck” chant from the Red Wings crowd – it was refreshing.  Take note fans. 
• Taylor Hall has been all over this game – just been very smart managing the puck, retreating to a spot to cover for a pinching defenseman, and just overall real good IQ.  He works with pace and urgency, which I like, and he has, to this point, teamed up very well with Kotkaniemi and Blake.  That line had plenty of chances in the 2^nd and 3^rd to really bust this one loose, including a Taylor Hall penalty shot that missed.  I wasn’t overly concerned, though, because we probably wouldn’t have scored on the power play anyway.  The line itself has been buzzing, though.
• There has been some decent net-front traffic in this one, something that hasn’t been as evident in the past several games. 
• Near the end of the second period, there was about three and a half minutes of Hurricanes domination, hemming the Red Wings in the zone the whole time.  With the long change in the 2^nd period for the defense, we were able to keep and maintain pressure the entire time, generating chances from not one, not two, but three different line combinations for us.  We didn’t score during that stretch, but I can assure you the Red Wings group that was on the ice (some for close to four minutes) felt that shift the rest of the game.
• As the game entered the third period, both teams had solid chances, and the pace of play was excellent.  The Hurricanes tonight, once again, have been steady as a defensive unit (all five playing well together) and actively generating quality chances in our attacking end.  Alex Lyon (former Hurricane and goaltender for the Wings in this one) has been solid.
• As mentioned, Freddie Andersen had a great night in net, but did give up one to Elmer Soderblom, a gigantic (6’8”) winger that put a nifty shot behind Andersen – Anderson was coming across the crease as he was following Soderblom to take away space and Elmer threw the puck behind Andersen’s blocker side upstairs.  He also skated around Dimitri Orlov, who looked like a driving cone that was parked in the middle of the ice.  I can’t say I’m surprised by this – the Dimitri Orlov experiment can’t end soon enough for me.

With about four minutes to go, I could feel a shift in energy in the game – clearly on the Detroit side of things.  With about two and a half minutes to go, they pulled the goalie and continued to attack.  While we couldn’t find the back of an empty net, the boys showed a lot of heart, hustle and drive in this one and ended up with a 2-1 win.  That’s two in a row for us and, with another win, we would be on what some might call “a winning streak”. 

I credit the team for playing sound defense as a unit.  Once again, our top nine had their chances and the Staal line ended up being the beneficiaries.  The two wins against Calgary and Detroit aren’t big for us, but the losses for the Flames and Red Wings are big – they need those games to make a final push for the playoffs.  In our defense, we need them to.  What I am getting at is this – we are seeing these teams’ best shots.  Solid defense and good goaltending were what the doctor ordered. 

Up next – a date in our building against the Boston Bruins.