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The Detroit Red Wings completed an important opening month of the season by jumping out to an insurmountable 4-0 lead on the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, on their way to a 5-2 victory on Halloween Night at the Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings power play unit was “magical” early on, converting on its opening two opportunities.
Gustav Nyquist led the charge with two more goals to give him a team-leading seven and three points total. Following
Tomas Tatar’s goal with just under 5 minutes remaining in the opening frame, it seemed as if the Kings were resigned to accepting their fate of receiving a “trick” rather than a “treat” from their hosts from Detroit.
"We got off to a real good start. Obviously the power play was magic. Guys really were skating...we were able to jump on them early."---Coach Mike Babcock
However, the Kings displayed the mettle of “champions” by battling fatigue (3rd road game in 4 nights, including back-to-back) and playing without
Anze Kopitar,
Marian Gaborik and the suspended
Slava Voynov to make a game of it.
When
Tyler Toffoli scored to make it 4-2 early in the 3rd period via a shorthanded tally, the crowd at the Joe began to wonder if the Wings were going to allow the Kings to provide a dramatic conclusion. That was amplified shortly after the Toffoli marker when L.A.’s
Dustin Brown was awarded a penalty shot after being pulled down on a breakaway. Yet
Jimmy Howard stood tall and turned Brown aside to maintain the two-goal advantage in a pivotal play.
"Huge! We had just given up a shorty, and giving up a second one … It was a huge save." ---Coach Mike Babcock
That crucial moment, along with the spirited response from
Jonathan Ericsson just over a minute after the penalty shot to a
Jordan Nolan hit from behind on
Darren Helm seemed to reinvigorate the Red Wings for the final 16 minutes of play and allowed them to recapture the momentum they had generated in the first period, leading to
Pavel Datsyuk’s empty-netter to seal the deal.
The only downside to the loss may have been the injury sustained to
Kyle Quincey, who went down with an ankle injury during the first period. Although the team will find out more today on Quincey's condition,
Brian Lashoff is itching to get into some game action, along with several prospects on the farm in Grand Rapids, most notably
Xavier Ouellet.
The Wings compiled an impressive start to the season in October by going 6-2-2, with 14 points out of a possible 20. Detroit is amidst a 5 games in 8 night situation themselves, with 3 in 4 on the road upcoming (Sunday vs. Buffalo @ 5 PM EST; Tuesday @ Ottawa and Wednesday @ New York Rangers).
"We're going to have the same situation as the Kings on Wednesday, we go into New York and play three (games) in four (nights). You gotta take advantage of those opportunities. So the schedule favored us here tonight. We were able to jump on L.A." ---Coach Mike Babcock
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