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DeKeyser a pinball wizard |
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Shoot the puck.
That’s been the mantra of Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill all season long, and often, it seems to be a message completely ignored by his players.
Friday, the Wings got a lesson in what happens when you throw the puck on the net.
Sometimes, it goes in. And because of that, sometimes, you win.
Danny DeKeyser’s seemingly harmless wrister from the point banked off the skate of New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy, and then off the skate of Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey before finding its final resting place in the back of the New York net behind Isles goalie Thomas Greiss with just 27.9 seconds left in regulation.
It proved to be the game-deciding tally in Detroit’s 5-4 victory Friday at Joe Louis Arena, ending the Wings’ five-game winless skid.
“I don’t really what to say about it other than it was a pinball,” DeKeyser said. “Late in the game and the ice is bad throw it on the net and it went in.”
Perhaps the Isles should have been watching DeKeyser a bit more closely. It was DeKeyser’s first goal since Dec. 4, when he tallied the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Islanders.
“I know if you shoot the puck at the net you’ll get some bounces sometimes,” Blashill said. “We obviously got a bounce on that one.”
Despite falling behind for the 31st time in 51 games, Blashill felt his team came to play on Friday.
“I thought our compete level was really good,” Blashill said. “I thought our energy was really good. I thought we were a little bit loose. I thought we gave up … now, they pushed hard, too.
“We’ve got to be a little tighter but I thought from a compete and effort level it was great.”
Nielsen Injured
The Wings lost center Frans Nielsen, who suffered an upper body injury late in the second period and did not return for the third period.
His status for Saturday’s game at Nashville is uncertain.
“We’ll see tomorrow,” Blashill said. “He’s going to test it in the morning.”
If Nielsen can’t go, Tomas Jurco is available and if if turns out to be something long-term, Steve Ott (shoulder) could be activated from the injured list.
“Ott’s close,” Blashill said.
Marchenko Waived
The Red Wings placed defenseman Alexey Marchenko on waivers Friday. At the Saturday noon deadline, when he either clears waivers and is assigned to AHL Grand Rapids or is claimed by another NHL team, the Wings will then activate defenseman Brendan Smith from injured reserve.
Smith missed his 13th straight game Friday due to a knee injury but is expected to play Saturday in Nashville against the Predators because the Wings would rather that Niklas Kronwall not play back-to-back games on his creaky knees.
“We’re planning on having Smitty tomorrow,” Blashill said. “We’ll wait until the morning to make sure but our focus is to have Smitty tomorrow.”
The Wings had high hopes that Marchenko would develop into a steady, stay-at-home defenseman, and early in his Detroit days that looked to be the case. But Marchenko’s game plateaued and this season, had regressed. He’d been passed on the depth chart by rookies Xavier Ouellet and Nick Jensen and fellow rookie Ryan Sproul, like Marchenko a healthy scratch of late, offers more offensive upside than Marchenko.
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