Through two periods, it seemed like the story would be about the Washington Capitals enjoying better work from their supporting cast. The attention instead swerved back to the top guns in the final frame, however, as the Detroit Red Wings’ stars powered a 4-2 win on Wednesday.
Justin Abdelkader scored twice and Pavel Datsyuk provided the insurance marker as Detroit scored three unanswered goals in the third period.
Abdelkader finished with three points (adding an assist), Datsyuk had two points (one goal, one assist), Henrik Zetterberg grabbed a pair of helpers and Gustav Nyquist nabbed a nice tally as Detroit finished strong on “Rivalry Night.”
Abdelkader played the role of the complementary player to stars in the closing 20 minutes in particular, scoring thanks to a combination of grit, nice timing and good fortune:
The Red Wings shook off a disallowed goal in the first period and Washington’s 2-1 lead to win this game.
Considering the fact that Detroit’s big guns came up big, Alex Ovechkin‘s frustrating night stands out that much more. For the first time in his career, the 29-year-old failed to generate a point in five straight games.
While his -2 rating underscores the aggravation – not to mention the slashes he threw in the waning moments – Ovechkin did have his chances, firing seven shots on goal (which is as many as he had in the previous four games combined). Jimmy Howard was equal to the task, however, making 25 out of 27 saves overall.
Fair or not, Ovechkin’s detractors will have a field day. Especially cruel critics will contrast his play with Datsyuk’s brilliant night, including this jaw-dropping goal.
Sometimes it’s actually more frustrating to perform well and lose, yet the Capitals can at least note that they often carried the play against a strong puck possession team tonight:
This isn’t the last time that the Red Wings’ top guns finished a game in a strong way. They robbed victory from the jaws of defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins to boot, as you can see in this post.
With this win, the Red Wings are now 5-2-2 as they ready for a home game against the Los Angeles Kings. The Capitals have now lost two games by a score of 4-2 and three of their last four. They’ll get a little breather before they take on the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Saturday.
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- valoisvipers - Oct 29, 2014 at 10:44 PM
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Pavs and Zee are still clutch!
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- valoisvipers - Oct 29, 2014 at 10:48 PM
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PS Screw the Corsi numbers crap and Ovi too, O for 5 and counting but he does have a sore wrist from a couple of blocked shots.
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- polegojim - Oct 30, 2014 at 9:50 AM
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Excellent leadership on ice from them both.
Abdelkader had a strong game too. He’s become very active and engaged everytime he hits the ice.
Technically, the score was 5-2… that goalie interference call was soooo ridiculous. Holtby slipped and Glendenning was 20 feet away. That should be reviewable… not a Ref calling what he THOUGHT happened. If you didn’t SEE it, don’t call it, or confer with other refs and determine if ANYONE actually SAW a penalty.
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- vancouversportsbro - Oct 29, 2014 at 11:36 PM
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Corsi and possession stats are so bloody pointless. You can go on and on about how obi has good possession stats this year, he hasn’t been able to pot as much as he has in the past under trotz system. I feel sorry for Washington hiring him, I bet Nashville had a party when he left. Most over rated coach I’ve ever seen, people kept saying he hasn’t had any talent in Nashville yet laviolette has him looking like a chump. He was in Nashville for so long because he was good with the owners
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- pjblake2redwings - Oct 30, 2014 at 8:33 AM
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sorry Ovi but like I said on yesturdays post. Howard holding him to 5 games without a point!
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- stepanup - Oct 30, 2014 at 9:01 AM
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That snipe from Datsyuk was filthy. It’s as if he knew he could do it whenever, and wanted to see who he could set up first.
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- 101starmymedic - Oct 30, 2014 at 11:49 AM
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Final Score:
Detroit: 4
Washington 2:
Refs: 1
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