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* a quick note. I’d guessed that Columbus would win this one 4-2 (see my pregame thoughts). I assumed they would get an empty net, they didn’t. Their play up until now has been better than the results indicated. I originally guessed that Detroit will win tomorrow’s contest in OT 3-2. We’ll see if that comes to fruition. Your an see my three period summary and how I felt the game went. Detroit’s strong first period was undone by Columbus as they dominated in the second and continued into the third. Soft plays leading to turnovers came back to bite this squad. Good learning opportunity, I expect Detroit to knuckle down tomorrow and come out swinging.
First period summary
Summary - Detroit has been really good on faceoffs. The flow is better, and the team is on track for their highest SOG this season with 13 in the first. Ryan makes the fantastic move to be on left wing for faceoff, shoots a moving puck after Rasmussen wins the faceoff to score. Puck was on edge, scorers make that work.
I can’t over emphasize what Greiss is giving to Detroit. He stripped Jones of the puck on a penalty shot, poke checking and gobbling up the puck. Korpisalo not holding the puck, rebounds bouncing to neutral zone. Bertuzzi drop pass almost led to the tying goal. Larkin line showing more swagger, but those blind passes are leading to opportunities.
Second Period summary - Detroit went almost half the period without a shot on net. East - West passes are killing the rush and creating opportunities for CBJ. Turnovers by top two lines trying to make a soft play. CBJ using line changes to spring a forward on a breakaway. Forward waits at the blue line and defense uses the stretch pass (Chicago used to own this play). Detroit needs to simplify and play north south. Shots on net, look for rebound or whistle. Faceoffs more valuable than the rush at this point for the boys in Red. Still leading on the shot clock, but the second period could have been much worse if not for Greiss coming up huge again.
Third period summary - final 3 minutes aside, CBJ used a very strong second period to keep momentum and get 2 goals at the beginning of the third. The continued trend of bad/soft passes plagued Detroit and was a big part of CBJs success. Columbus is excellent on transitioning after intercepting a pass. The Blue Jackets defense was very hard to get behind, and Savard is very good below the goal line. Full marks to Korpisalo, but it wasn’t just goaltending that won the day for Columbus. Strong efforts all over the ice. If Greiss hadn’t made so many really good saves, the score could have been even more tilted. Detroit needs to look at those failed passes and get them out of their game for now. It’s a skill play that isn’t working. Mantha’s big shot led to Detroit’s second goal. His shot can still cause very good things to happen.
Faceoff - Glendening wins, line change while Detroit holds the O zone. Outlet pass into CBJ zone, rush broken by hand pass
:50 Neutral zone faceoff - Larkin wins. Puck send into O zone, 2 SOG from Mantha and Bertuzzi. Better flow already. Larkin line dumps puck deep and gets a line change
1:53 - tripping call on Bobby Ryan, CBJ PP
O zone faceoff - Glendening wins, but CBJ takes over. Pass to Benstrom for an Ovi style one timer at the left dot, Greiss bails out the team
2:15 faceoff, Glenny wins 14th to stay perfect today. Puck is cleared. CBJ enters and Benstrom rings the pipe off the rush. Puck deflected out of play. Glenny loses the draw, leads to Jones shot (wide). Staal and Bertuzzi with good blocks, CBJ gets some huge chances, Greiss stands tall, puck is cleared. End of PK/PP
Larkin turnover leads to a point blank shot attempt, Greiss bails him out. Bad decision making CBJ retains possession, Savard point shot held by Greiss.
4:46 -D zone faceoff - Fil loses, Nemeth clears but is intercepted. Texted comes in with a wraparound shot and scores. CBJ 2-1
5:10 centre ice faceoff. Ras wins, CBJ ices the puck (another generous icing, this time goes Detroit’s way)
5:28 - o zone faceoff - Larkin wins. Staal shot blocked and leads to CBJ possession. Detroit can’t get puck on net. Savard play behind net is impressive. Stretch pass to Dubois ends up in the Detroit net. That late forward is killing the team. Need to adjust. Embarrassing opportunity.
Timeout Detroit - CBJ is masterful at protecting a lead. Detroit’s soft plays have cost them the lead and momentum. Greiss still playing well, but too many rushes and too much talent.
12:08 - O zone faceoff - Fil wins, puck back to the point, no shots on net and Seth Jones clears. Brome, Gagner back in, can’t get the puck on net. CBJ running “quiet” interference very well, taking away shooting and passing lanes. Larkin with a nice steal, another O zone pass is intercepted and back down the ice. Icing against Detroit. Such poor decision making still. Larkin should shoot for rebound
9:36 - Larkin, again, turns the puck over looking for a pass in the O zone. Knock it off. Ryan does a drop pass to Larkin, stopped would have been better to shoot. The cute plays are giving CBJ the ability to shut this down
D zone faceoff - Larkin loses but Sings regain puck. Mantha shot block leads to CBJ rush down ice. Mantha robbed on a shot from the right faceoff circle. Tough angle as puck was in his feet. Good shift though
11:01 - O zone faceoff - won by Fil. Shot toward net just misses on deflection.
CBJ down ice for a quick shot on net. Zadina rushes the other way and gets a heavy wrister on net. Better decision making there. Hand pass in neutral zone causes stop in play.
12:24 - neutral zone faceoff, Larkin wins, Bertuzzi to Hronek and into the zone. Wings draw tripping penalty, power play opportunity.
12:34 - Power play faceoff (O zone) - Larkin wins with help from Mantha. Ryan with a couple shots. Broken stick, bad bounce leads to CBJ clear. Zone entry by Larkin, drop pass leads to intercept and clear. Better to hold the puck at that point. Merrill gets puck in deep, Wings cannot get setup and puck trickles out.
14:05 - Gagner wins neutral zone faceoff. Opportunity, but cleared by CBJ. No shots, officially. CBJ jumping, applies pressure in D zone before they change up personnel. Dubois with another Grade a chance. Beautiful chance by Staal off the goal post after a nice rush by Ryan. Larkin turns on the jets and gets a backhand on net for a hold. Scrum ensues.
16:50 - empty net for extra skater on faceoff. Larkin wins. Some really nice opportunities come off of a Mantha shot. Korpisalo really good.
17:11 - empty net for O zone faceoff - Larkin wins , Hronek shot blocked and Wings quick to recover. Mantha makes another bad pass and CBJ controls. Finally back into the zone with 1:45 LEFT
18:24 - empty net for O zone faceoff - Wings lose, manage to keep puck in the zone. Brome broken stick almost leads to turnover. Werenski misses empty net and ices the puck
18:58 - Larkin wins the draw, puck ends up in net but is waived off. Multiple fights break out including Larkin and Werensky. Ryan gets Bjorkstrand and gets him down to the ice. Domi attacks Namestnikov while he’s laying on the ice. Zero respect on that kind of play.
Goal being reviewed, Bobby Ryan may have been cross checked into the goalie by Werenski. We have a good goal. Huge break for Detroit. Toronto got this one right. No clue who scored, I’ll give this one to Jesus.
19:05 - center ice faceoff. Unfortunately, Ryan and Larkin are unavailable. Torts tries to challenge, new rule says that he can’t.
Filppula loses draw, puck goes out at the blue line. Gagner loses the draw, CBJ shot on net. Detroit dumps the puck in, Mantha shot blocked, CBJ clears the puck. End of game.
CBJ wins 3-2
Second Period summary - Detroit went almost half the period without a shot on net. East - West passes are killing the rush and creating opportunities for CBJ. Turnovers by top two lines trying to make a soft play. CBJ using line changes to spring a forward on a breakaway. Forward waits at the blue line and defense uses the stretch pass (Chicago used to own this play). Detroit needs to simplify and play north south. Shots on net, look for rebound or whistle. Faceoffs more valuable than the rush at this point for the boys in Red. Still leading on the shot clock, but the second period could have been much worse if not for Greiss coming up huge again.
20:00 - faceoff - Detroit wins, puck out of play
Glendening wins, CBJ intercepts. Nice stand up check on Dubois. Puck up and down, big stretch pass from Hronek breaks Larkin out and into the O zone. Larkin draws interference penalty. Larkin slow to get up,
1:00 PP - faceoff loss by Gagner (2nd unit out) puck cleared. Hronek breaks up a 2 on 1 short handed attempt. Detroit finall gets into the zone, no puck support leads to CBJ breakout. Gagner dumps in. Corner scrum, shot attempt by Hronek, puck cleared.
First unit on. CBJ breaking up passes. Larkin re enters, puck out with penalty ending. Leads to point black try for Dubois. Greiss standing tall.
Nielsen blocked shot leads to a breakout, Glenny missed the tip in, puck all the way back down. Up and down game leading to CBJ attempts. Detroit needs to buckle down.
Zadina drop pass on a 3 man breakout leads to interception and save of offside call, Atkinson would be in all alone.
4:50 - Larkin wins Neutral zone faceoff, puck dumped into o zone. CBJ intercepts and breaks out. Far too many chances on the rush for CBJ. Their transition game is really good. Detroit needs to play north south and avoid passes in tight
5:23 - generous icing call against Detroit.
D zone faceoff loss. Ras line gets the puck out and down into O zone. Ryan battles and gets puck to the point. We’re ski takes over, nice stretch pass that leads to another CBJ shot on goal
*Detroit would do well to get away from passing on the rush. Would be better to get a shot on net for a rebound or a stoppage in play. With faceoffs being better, that opportunity will be better. Turnovers are giving CBJ tons of momentum and far too many rushes.
6:10 - D zone faceoff - Nielsen - tossup. Stecher gets the puck out and Brome down the ice. Pass goes astray and leds to another CBJ SOG. Detroit with zero shots on net in 7 mins of the third. Stop passing the puck and shoot it boys.
Namestnikov in, Gagner shot blocked, leads to another rush down ice. Gagner strong on the back check to get the puck back down ice. Puck deflected out of D zone by CBJ.
8:00 - D zone faceoff - CBJ wins, gets a shot on net. Now tied with Detroit at 13. Ryan gets down and gets a nice shot off. CBJ gets puck out and down ice. Del Zotto goes for a big high hit on Merrill. Larkin line rushes in, back hand shot by Larkin, nice shot attempt. Finally getting some zone time and 2 SOG. (Ryan then Larkin)
Another Bertuzzi flip pass intercepted, killing the rush. They need to address this on the bench. Get the iPads. Nemeth and Glenny playing solid D, Glenny with a shot block that looks like it shook him up. Jones quietly skates in and gets puck into net front scrum. Smart play. Puck out of play.
10:32 - D zone faceoff - Filppula wins, Wings skate it deep. CBJ takes over and back down ice. Fil with a nice entry, CBJ back out to neutral zone line change. Zadina/Rasmussen/Ryan line out.
11:35 - O zone faceoff - Ras winst o Ryan, blocked shot all the way down to Wings zone, Greiss skates out and clears away from oncoming CBJ rush. Leads to really good chances, Zadina backhand stopped by Korpisalo
12:08 - O zone faceoff, CBJ wins, puck down ice. Larkin skates down and gets a shot on net. Mantha picks up rebound, stopped. Mantha with a turn around shot in the slot, really good pressure. Detroit now 20 shots to 14. CBJ with only 1 shot in last few minutes.
12:56 - O zone faceoff - Glendening wins, leads to SOG
Glenny wins another faceoff, another SOG from Stecher. Good looks
13:08 - O zone faceoff (CBJ changes, Detroit follows suit) - Fil wins draw, CBJ able to get the puck out. Dump back into O zone, Safari with a nice takeaway on Fil behind the net. Gagner gets puck out of D zone, back in for CBJ. Dekeyser passing out of the zone, ill advised pass from Ryan to Zadina leads to a turnover and almost a massive hit on Zadina. CBJ has Detroit hemmed in. Playing the perimeter, leads to goal for Bjorkstrand
Tied 1-1
**again the passes east west are being picked off and lead to attempts on net. CBJ scores on the 15th shot
15:10 - Centre ice faceoff, won by CBJ, they are controlling play with possession and doing a nice job of “keep away”. Detroit needs to settle down. 2nd period first half was really bad for the squad. They’re gaining more shots on net, but CBJ is looking much more confident and solid. Need to try and shut down with smart play for the final few minutes. Hopefully the third will be a swing back in the right direction.
15:33 - neutral zone faceoff - Larkin loses, CBJ controls and gets puck in deep. Puck out and right back in. Bertuzzi sends in O zone from center ice, CBJ just faster and getting possession. Leads, again, to a 1 on 0 chance for Jenner at point blank ranger. Greiss makes an insanely good save.
16:24 - D zone faceoff on hold for goal review. No goal Glenny wins draw, puck down to O zone. Stecher with a nice keep in for Glendening stuff attempt. Nielsen tries to get puck in, CBJ cuts it off and gets the puck back down ice. Can’t get behind CBJ D. Detroit ices the puck
17:47 - D zone faceoff - Fil loses, but CBJ sends out to neutral zone. Nemeth makes a nice play behind the net. Line change to Larkin line. Puck dumped in, CBJ stretch pass almost sets Bjorkstrand on breakaway. Line changes creating offense for CBJ Jones with fantastic work down low, Bjorkstrand shot stopped
Last minute of play. Larkin sends puck down, Rasmussen beats icing call. CBJ back down ice with 20 sec to go. Stecher gets the puck out, Rasmussen dumps safely in. End 2nd
First period -
Summary - Detroit has been really good on faceoffs. The flow is better, and the team is on track for their highest SOG this season with 13 in the first. Ryan makes the fantastic move to be on left wing for faceoff, shoots a moving puck after Rasmussen wins the faceoff to score. Puck was on edge, scorers make that work.
I can’t over emphasize what Greiss is giving to Detroit. He stripped Jones of the puck on a penalty shot, poke checking and gobbling up the puck. Korpisalo not holding the puck, rebounds bouncing to neutral zone. Bertuzzi drop pass almost led to the tying goal. Larkin line showing more swagger, but those blind passes are leading to opportunities.
20:00 - faceoff Glendening controls with help from Brome
Nielsen gets in with a backhander. Impressive work by the depth line to get deep
:13 - faceoff - Larkin - wins, Bertuzzi a nice dish for a shot by defense
:17 - faceoff - Ryan wins, back to the line
Shot block send puck out of the zone. Good start at the dot for Detroit
Rasmussen on the line in Fabbri’s absence
Wings getting nice support from Nemeth and Hronek to keep the puck in the zone. Mantha attempt, Larkin shot. Already more pucks on net. 5 shots in 1:37
1:37 - faceoff - Larkin - wins again, but CBJ gets control. Detroit regains the puck, Merrill pass intercepted by CBJ, Detroit ices the puck
2:09 - faceoff (D zone) - Gagner wins the draw, Dekeyser shoots puck out of play (deflected)
2:15 - faceoff (Dzone) - Glendening toss up good support from Nielsen to get the puck out and down the ice.
Puck back in Detroit zone CBJ sets up. Jones gets first SOG at 2:47 for CBJ
2:47 - Larkin loses, puck out but turned over in Neutral zone. Mantha skates down, now SOG, CBJ clears it. Larkin to Bertuzzi drop pass in O zone. Mantha with a nice backhand to keep the puck in. Line change. Ryan on the attack. CBJ gets down ice to O zone for SOG by Folighnl
4:08 - Dzone faceoff - Gagner wins, has to be dropped again. CBJ wins draw. Wings get it out, Gagner with a nice spin move in O zone and sets up for an attempt. Robinson gets a wide open rush on Detroit net, misses. Detroit hemmed in without a SOG since 1:37. Not good
5:20 - D zone faceoff - Detroit wins FO gets puck down to O zone. Glendening still very good at the dot. CBU clears, Staal shoots back in. Brome with dogged work, gets stripped by Dubois, Detroit regains. Larkin line in. Jenner ends up with two very good shots, Merril blocks one, he missed a backhand with Greiss down. CBJ is coming on.
6:31 - D zone faceoff - Larkin - toss up, Wings get it out and down to O zone. Nemeth pinches low to try and get puck to the net. Bertuzzi robbed by Korpisalo on a back hand and deflection. Nice work by Nemeth
7:00 - O zone faceoff - wins - Ryan scores on the faceoff! He started on his off wing after a faceoff win by Rasmussen!
Center ice faceoff - Ryan loses. Wings turn over on a missed pass from Ryan to Rasmussen, CBJ on the attack. Point shot waive by Greiss. Puck out and back in. CBJ buzzing on the cycle. Line change for both, Staal in Gretzky’s office. Stretch pass down the ice. Blocked shot converts to breakaway for Jones. CBJ controlling on delayed hooking penalty. Nice attempt stopped by Greiss. Huge save by Filppula to stop Cam Atkinson one timer
9:36 - Penalty shot for Jones - Greiss comes up huge. Looked like a poke check broke up the attempt. Greiss stole the puck off of Jone’s stick.
D zone faceoff - Gagner loses, Wings regain control and get down to the CBJ zone. CBJ comes back, but offside at the line.
*on the Ryan goal. Didn’t wait for the puck to settle or clean it off. Just ripped it. Goal scorers can be comfortable shooting a bouncer. So smart to be on left wing for that faceoff.
10:06 - neutral zone faceoff - Larkin wins. Wings get a couple shots on net off of entry.
O zone faceoff - Mantha wins with help from Bert, Wings try to cycle, puck slow against the boards. CBJ gets it down for a shot on net easily stopped by Greiss. Such a boost for the team in net
10:59 - icing, D zone faceoff - Larkin wins, stretch pass not picked up. Another icing.
11:20 - icing - D zone faceoff, Larkin loses, Bertuzzi fetches the puck and Mantha leads the breakout. Much better zone entry in the past two games. CBJ back down into Dzone. Glendening skates the puck out, dumps in and retrieves. Leads to a very good attempt on net, Nielsen
2 on 1 with Rasmussen and Zadina, Ras passes and the puck is intercepted. Puck all the way down to D zone. Wings back to attack. Zadina passes to Hronek, moved to Gagner for a nice attempt
CBJ back on the attack intercepting rebound. Wings back down for a SOG by Stecher, rebound swept to Neutral zone. Larkin skates it back in. Puck back down to Greiss who holds on to get a whistle
14:30 - D zone faceoff - wings win, but CBJ intercepts the clear. Neilsen still finding his hands/feet. Gets the puck at center and dumps it in. CBJ pass intercepted by Merrill, back in for Rasmussen/Ryan/Zadina line. Hand pass sends play to neutral zone
15:34 - Rasmussen faceoff - Ryan comes in after waive. CBJ wins and controls. Dumps puck down to the Wings zone. Ryan pass off a skate and back into Wings zone. Ryan skating with the puck to find more clearance. The more he plays the more impressed I am
Greiss with a huge poke check to stop Robinson. CBJ dumps the puck back into the zone. Stecher with a bank pass out to center. CBJ holds in their own zone while Detroit’s changes. Larkin to Bertuzzi to Hronek for a shot attempt. Puck back out. Mantha to Bertuzzi for a beautiful attempt. Korpisalo with a big save, Larkin crashes the net. 13 shot at 18:00
Glendening line out, CBJ dumps into Wings zone. Brome pass to Glenny broken up with a good stick, puck out of play in the neutral zone.
18:33 - neutral zone faceoff - Mantha wins Stecher shoots puck into O zone. CBJ out and into Wings zone. Bjorkstrand with a high riser, but still a good attempt. Mantha and Larkin get the puck out. Atkinson intercepts a drop pass from Bertuzzi, can’t make those plays right now. Leads to a fantastic Jones attempt from off of the bench. Greiss gobbles it up and bails out the team.
19:37 - Glendening wins D zone faceoff puck down ice and out of danger.
End period
Second Period summary - Detroit went almost half the period without a shot on net. East - West passes are killing the rush and creating opportunities for CBJ. Turnovers by top two lines trying to make a soft play. CBJ using line changes to spring a forward on a breakaway. Forward waits at the blue line and defense uses the stretch pass (Chicago used to own this play). Detroit needs to simplify and play north south. Shots on net, look for rebound or whistle. Faceoffs more valuable than the rush at this point for the boys in Red. Still leading on the shot clock, but the second period could have been much worse if not for Greiss coming up huge again.
20:00 - faceoff - Detroit wins, puck out of play
Glendening wins, CBJ intercepts. Nice stand up check on Dubois. Puck up and down, big stretch pass from Hronek breaks Larkin out and into the O zone. Larkin draws interference penalty. Larkin slow to get up,
1:00 PP - faceoff loss by Gagner (2nd unit out) puck cleared. Hronek breaks up a 2 on 1 short handed attempt. Detroit finall gets into the zone, no puck support leads to CBJ breakout. Gagner dumps in. Corner scrum, shot attempt by Hronek, puck cleared.
First unit on. CBJ breaking up passes. Larkin re enters, puck out with penalty ending. Leads to point black try for Dubois. Greiss standing tall.
Nielsen blocked shot leads to a breakout, Glenny missed the tip in, puck all the way back down. Up and down game leading to CBJ attempts. Detroit needs to buckle down.
Zadina drop pass on a 3 man breakout leads to interception and save of offside call, Atkinson would be in all alone.
4:50 - Larkin wins Neutral zone faceoff, puck dumped into o zone. CBJ intercepts and breaks out. Far too many chances on the rush for CBJ. Their transition game is really good. Detroit needs to play north south and avoid passes in tight
5:23 - generous icing call against Detroit.
D zone faceoff loss. Ras line gets the puck out and down into O zone. Ryan battles and gets puck to the point. We’re ski takes over, nice stretch pass that leads to another CBJ shot on goal
*Detroit would do well to get away from passing on the rush. Would be better to get a shot on net for a rebound or a stoppage in play. With faceoffs being better, that opportunity will be better. Turnovers are giving CBJ tons of momentum and far too many rushes.
6:10 - D zone faceoff - Nielsen - tossup. Stecher gets the puck out and Brome down the ice. Pass goes astray and leds to another CBJ SOG. Detroit with zero shots on net in 7 mins of the third. Stop passing the puck and shoot it boys.
Namestnikov in, Gagner shot blocked, leads to another rush down ice. Gagner strong on the back check to get the puck back down ice. Puck deflected out of D zone by CBJ.
8:00 - D zone faceoff - CBJ wins, gets a shot on net. Now tied with Detroit at 13. Ryan gets down and gets a nice shot off. CBJ gets puck out and down ice. Del Zotto goes for a big high hit on Merrill. Larkin line rushes in, back hand shot by Larkin, nice shot attempt. Finally getting some zone time and 2 SOG. (Ryan then Larkin)
Another Bertuzzi flip pass intercepted, killing the rush. They need to address this on the bench. Get the iPads. Nemeth and Glenny playing solid D, Glenny with a shot block that looks like it shook him up. Jones quietly skates in and gets puck into net front scrum. Smart play. Puck out of play.
10:32 - D zone faceoff - Filppula wins, Wings skate it deep. CBJ takes over and back down ice. Fil with a nice entry, CBJ back out to neutral zone line change. Zadina/Rasmussen/Ryan line out.
11:35 - O zone faceoff - Ras winst o Ryan, blocked shot all the way down to Wings zone, Greiss skates out and clears away from oncoming CBJ rush. Leads to really good chances, Zadina backhand stopped by Korpisalo
12:08 - O zone faceoff, CBJ wins, puck down ice. Larkin skates down and gets a shot on net. Mantha picks up rebound, stopped. Mantha with a turn around shot in the slot, really good pressure. Detroit now 20 shots to 14. CBJ with only 1 shot in last few minutes.
12:56 - O zone faceoff - Glendening wins, leads to SOG
Glenny wins another faceoff, another SOG from Stecher. Good looks
13:08 - O zone faceoff (CBJ changes, Detroit follows suit) - Fil wins draw, CBJ able to get the puck out. Dump back into O zone, Safari with a nice takeaway on Fil behind the net. Gagner gets puck out of D zone, back in for CBJ. Dekeyser passing out of the zone, ill advised pass from Ryan to Zadina leads to a turnover and almost a massive hit on Zadina. CBJ has Detroit hemmed in. Playing the perimeter, leads to goal for Bjorkstrand
Tied 1-1
**again the passes east west are being picked off and lead to attempts on net. CBJ scores on the 15th shot
15:10 - Centre ice faceoff, won by CBJ, they are controlling play with possession and doing a nice job of “keep away”. Detroit needs to settle down. 2nd period first half was really bad for the squad. They’re gaining more shots on net, but CBJ is looking much more confident and solid. Need to try and shut down with smart play for the final few minutes. Hopefully the third will be a swing back in the right direction.
15:33 - neutral zone faceoff - Larkin loses, CBJ controls and gets puck in deep. Puck out and right back in. Bertuzzi sends in O zone from center ice, CBJ just faster and getting possession. Leads, again, to a 1 on 0 chance for Jenner at point blank ranger. Greiss makes an insanely good save.
16:24 - D zone faceoff on hold for goal review. No goal Glenny wins draw, puck down to O zone. Stecher with a nice keep in for Glendening stuff attempt. Nielsen tries to get puck in, CBJ cuts it off and gets the puck back down ice. Can’t get behind CBJ D. Detroit ices the puck
17:47 - D zone faceoff - Fil loses, but CBJ sends out to neutral zone. Nemeth makes a nice play behind the net. Line change to Larkin line. Puck dumped in, CBJ stretch pass almost sets Bjorkstrand on breakaway. Line changes creating offense for CBJ Jones with fantastic work down low, Bjorkstrand shot stopped
Last minute of play. Larkin sends puck down, Rasmussen beats icing call. CBJ back down ice with 20 sec to go. Stecher gets the puck out, Rasmussen dumps safely in. End 2nd
First period -
Summary - Detroit has been really good on faceoffs. The flow is better, and the team is on track for their highest SOG this season with 13 in the first. Ryan makes the fantastic move to be on left wing for faceoff, shoots a moving puck after Rasmussen wins the faceoff to score. Puck was on edge, scorers make that work.
I can’t over emphasize what Greiss is giving to Detroit. He stripped Jones of the puck on a penalty shot, poke checking and gobbling up the puck. Korpisalo not holding the puck, rebounds bouncing to neutral zone. Bertuzzi drop pass almost led to the tying goal. Larkin line showing more swagger, but those blind passes are leading to opportunities.
20:00 - faceoff Glendening controls with help from Brome
Nielsen gets in with a backhander. Impressive work by the depth line to get deep
:13 - faceoff - Larkin - wins, Bertuzzi a nice dish for a shot by defense
:17 - faceoff - Ryan wins, back to the line
Shot block send puck out of the zone. Good start at the dot for Detroit
Rasmussen on the line in Fabbri’s absence
Wings getting nice support from Nemeth and Hronek to keep the puck in the zone. Mantha attempt, Larkin shot. Already more pucks on net. 5 shots in 1:37
1:37 - faceoff - Larkin - wins again, but CBJ gets control. Detroit regains the puck, Merrill pass intercepted by CBJ, Detroit ices the puck
2:09 - faceoff (D zone) - Gagner wins the draw, Dekeyser shoots puck out of play (deflected)
2:15 - faceoff (Dzone) - Glendening toss up good support from Nielsen to get the puck out and down the ice.
Puck back in Detroit zone CBJ sets up. Jones gets first SOG at 2:47 for CBJ
2:47 - Larkin loses, puck out but turned over in Neutral zone. Mantha skates down, now SOG, CBJ clears it. Larkin to Bertuzzi drop pass in O zone. Mantha with a nice backhand to keep the puck in. Line change. Ryan on the attack. CBJ gets down ice to O zone for SOG by Folighnl
4:08 - Dzone faceoff - Gagner wins, has to be dropped again. CBJ wins draw. Wings get it out, Gagner with a nice spin move in O zone and sets up for an attempt. Robinson gets a wide open rush on Detroit net, misses. Detroit hemmed in without a SOG since 1:37. Not good
5:20 - D zone faceoff - Detroit wins FO gets puck down to O zone. Glendening still very good at the dot. CBU clears, Staal shoots back in. Brome with dogged work, gets stripped by Dubois, Detroit regains. Larkin line in. Jenner ends up with two very good shots, Merril blocks one, he missed a backhand with Greiss down. CBJ is coming on.
6:31 - D zone faceoff - Larkin - toss up, Wings get it out and down to O zone. Nemeth pinches low to try and get puck to the net. Bertuzzi robbed by Korpisalo on a back hand and deflection. Nice work by Nemeth
7:00 - O zone faceoff - wins - Ryan scores on the faceoff! He started on his off wing after a faceoff win by Rasmussen!
Center ice faceoff - Ryan loses. Wings turn over on a missed pass from Ryan to Rasmussen, CBJ on the attack. Point shot waive by Greiss. Puck out and back in. CBJ buzzing on the cycle. Line change for both, Staal in Gretzky’s office. Stretch pass down the ice. Blocked shot converts to breakaway for Jones. CBJ controlling on delayed hooking penalty. Nice attempt stopped by Greiss. Huge save by Filppula to stop Cam Atkinson one timer
9:36 - Penalty shot for Jones - Greiss comes up huge. Looked like a poke check broke up the attempt. Greiss stole the puck off of Jone’s stick.
D zone faceoff - Gagner loses, Wings regain control and get down to the CBJ zone. CBJ comes back, but offside at the line.
*on the Ryan goal. Didn’t wait for the puck to settle or clean it off. Just ripped it. Goal scorers can be comfortable shooting a bouncer. So smart to be on left wing for that faceoff.
10:06 - neutral zone faceoff - Larkin wins. Wings get a couple shots on net off of entry.
O zone faceoff - Mantha wins with help from Bert, Wings try to cycle, puck slow against the boards. CBJ gets it down for a shot on net easily stopped by Greiss. Such a boost for the team in net
10:59 - icing, D zone faceoff - Larkin wins, stretch pass not picked up. Another icing.
11:20 - icing - D zone faceoff, Larkin loses, Bertuzzi fetches the puck and Mantha leads the breakout. Much better zone entry in the past two games. CBJ back down into Dzone. Glendening skates the puck out, dumps in and retrieves. Leads to a very good attempt on net, Nielsen
2 on 1 with Rasmussen and Zadina, Ras passes and the puck is intercepted. Puck all the way down to D zone. Wings back to attack. Zadina passes to Hronek, moved to Gagner for a nice attempt
CBJ back on the attack intercepting rebound. Wings back down for a SOG by Stecher, rebound swept to Neutral zone. Larkin skates it back in. Puck back down to Greiss who holds on to get a whistle
14:30 - D zone faceoff - wings win, but CBJ intercepts the clear. Neilsen still finding his hands/feet. Gets the puck at center and dumps it in. CBJ pass intercepted by Merrill, back in for Rasmussen/Ryan/Zadina line. Hand pass sends play to neutral zone
15:34 - Rasmussen faceoff - Ryan comes in after waive. CBJ wins and controls. Dumps puck down to the Wings zone. Ryan pass off a skate and back into Wings zone. Ryan skating with the puck to find more clearance. The more he plays the more impressed I am
Greiss with a huge poke check to stop Robinson. CBJ dumps the puck back into the zone. Stecher with a bank pass out to center. CBJ holds in their own zone while Detroit’s changes. Larkin to Bertuzzi to Hronek for a shot attempt. Puck back out. Mantha to Bertuzzi for a beautiful attempt. Korpisalo with a big save, Larkin crashes the net. 13 shot at 18:00
Glendening line out, CBJ dumps into Wings zone. Brome pass to Glenny broken up with a good stick, puck out of play in the neutral zone.
18:33 - neutral zone faceoff - Mantha wins Stecher shoots puck into O zone. CBJ out and into Wings zone. Bjorkstrand with a high riser, but still a good attempt. Mantha and Larkin get the puck out. Atkinson intercepts a drop pass from Bertuzzi, can’t make those plays right now. Leads to a fantastic Jones attempt from off of the bench. Greiss gobbles it up and bails out the team.
19:37 - Glendening wins D zone faceoff puck down ice and out of danger.
End period
Detroit found a way to split the opening 2 game series against Carolina. The team, from game one to two, came together in a huge way. I will fully admit, our goaltending situation has given this new look squad an amazing amount of support and helped the Wings stay in games that last year would have been a disaster.
And so, Monday at noon Detroit will faceoff against Columbus. If you had to guess which teams would be looking for their first win after two, Columbus probably wasn’t at the top of the list. Chicago is also having some trouble finding their footing. But, for the Blue Jackets, I believe the time is coming quickly.
CBJ had 30 shots on net in game one with only 1 goal. They had 44 shots on net with only 2 goals in their second outing. They clearly have the penchant to continue to attack, and without stellar goaltending for Detroit, it could get ugly. Here is my quick breakdown on what I see for each team:
Columbus - the Blue Jackets have an immense amount of pride. The team is well coached and there is buy in from the players. Well, most of the players. For reasons I cannot comprehend, CBJ continues to have players who want to play in a different market. While this may be the case for many teams, for the Blue Jackets, it’s been made public far too often. Exits by Panarin, Duchene and Bobrovsky had many convinced the team would fall off. Instead, ironically, New York, Florida and Nashville had issues getting to the post season. Dubois has now asked to be dealt, and the trend continues. Dubois, selected instead of Puljuljarvi, seems to have the same outlook after all. More and more players seem to be willing to jump ship for any number of reasons. Bright lights, big city, French fans, surfing, hopes of becoming a country music star, etc.
Honestly, I just shake my head. I don’t know how far this trend is going to continue, but CBJ still finds a way to compete. Seth Jones is possibly my favorite NHL defenseman. He speaks often about watching Lidstrom and I’ve seen elements of #5 in his game. Cam Atkinson is typically a fly in the ointment for Detroit. Max Domi also enjoys facing the winged wheel. In short, this is a team that has talent and structure who are ready to break out.
Detroit - the Fabbri line. Last game was a lot of fun to watch. Zadina is strong on the puck, and capable of making quick plays to set up his linemates. I’d love to see him net one, but his play has been impressive. I’m looking to see when Mantha will break through. The Larkin line is gaining more jump each game, and with another line that can produce no longer find themselves isolated in coverage.
I feel like Detroit could split this series, but it’s going to be close. CBJ will come out hard tomorrow, and afternoon games are always interesting. My initial thought is that CBJ will break out tomorrow and win 4-2. Detroit will come back on Tuesday and win in OT 3-2.
Let me know what you think and what you’re looking forward to. As always, i will keep running notes and summaries on this post throughout the game.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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