Red Wings vs Canucks Recap: 3.16.2013
Detroit rebounded after a terrible start and beat the Canucks by a final score of 5-2. Zetterberg got back into his scoring ways as he and Abdelkader put two past Luongo. Cleary got the other goal for the Wings.
More after the jump:
The goals that Abby scored tonight were what we all pictured they would be like if he continued to play with Datsyuk. Pavel would eventually just start banking them in off Abdelkader. Well, those count, too, so whatever gets the job done. Does this mean Babcock was right all along? Of course not. Don’t be silly. Nyquist or Tatar would still be better there, but a win is a win.
Not sure why Brunner got demoted, but he picked up another assist tonight, so whatever.
Fil has been pretty good since coming back from his injury. If all of the guys coming back from injury bounce back like he has, we’ll be in good shape.
Our defense continues to get beat and it’s getting old. I see the way Howard is playing and then I see his numbers and I can’t believe it. How can this guy have a GAA near 3 and a SV% just above .900 when he’s playing so well? Bad defense.
Red Wings own Luongo.
PP scored on the road again, so that’s cool. However, I would like to see us spend less time trying to get Kronwall the puck for a shot. He’s good, but the strength of our power play is our forwards. Hank’s PP goal is a perfect example. Pav gets the puck with a little space, quickly finds Z and it’s in the back of the net. Do that more, k?
NOHS Three Stars of the Game:
First Star A: Pavel Datsyuk. Three helpers tonight and some great defensive play. If you DVR’d the game, go back to when the Canucks had a long 5 on 3. Watch how Pavel hustles and dives to clear the puck and muscles his way into position. Best player in the NHL. Vancouver scores there and they’re right back in the game.
First Star B: Jim Howard. Seriously, if he has the flu and is playing like that, everyone sneeze on him before games. Burrows could have had a career night tonight, but Howard denied him more often than not. His only blemishes were a 2 on 1 six seconds in and an own-goal by Kronwall.
Third Star: Justin Abdelkader. I know those were basically all Pav, but he went to the net like he was supposed to and was rewarded.
Honorable Mention: The whole team rebounded pretty well after such a crushing start to the game. Good to see.
Dishonorable Mention: Think Grand Rapids likes the idea of the Wings calling up Nyquist and then scratching him? The Griffins lost tonight. I bet they would have liked having their best player in the lineup. Yeah, yeah, the Wings won so it’s all okay, right? And if a young free agent like, say, Danny DeKeyser is paying attention, do you think he notices how young players are treated? Just something to consider.
4 out of a possible 6 points on this western road trip. Not bad. Next game is Wednesday night in Minnesota.
LGRW
Luongo whined after every goal. I don't think I've seen a goalie whine like he does, he's like circa 2007/08 Crosby in a mask. If you get scored on just accept it instead of whining about it like a baby.
Oh and also Vancouver's uniforms were amazing tonight. Wish they'd settle on those instead of Seafoam Green + Royal Blue with a C-word shaped Orca thing popping out of ice or whatever.
@brendanksullivan funny how when the came out for a skate earlier in day Bab's was like, "whos this team now?''. haha
Pav was worth the price of admission three times over tonight (even in Canadian dollars!). He was absolutely incredible and I loved how the CBC guys couldn't stop praising his as the best all-around in the NHL and even the CBC intermission folks back in Toronto like PJ Stock couldn't shut up about Pav's magic.
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Excellent recap; pretty much everything hit the nail on the head.Pavel Datsyuk yet again proved two things: A) He is the best player in the NHL. Crosby has some things he does better, but overall, Pav is the best, and, B) This team has so much talent it can be carried to wins by that talent. The lines are a constant juggle of senselessness with Miller getting a promotion and the rest being a jumble every other shift. Nyquist should be playing in the Top 6, not Abby or Miller. Nyquist should AT LEAST be playing in the AHL right now, rather than sitting in the press box (or wherever he was tonight).
Being the nice and talented player that he is, Datsyuk almost scored Abby’s first hat trick for him. At least Abby was driving to the net, but I think this shows just how useless Pav sees him as a hockey player- no more will Abby be passed to but rather shot at. Both of those goals were intentional bank shots off Abby. I said last year that any wing playing with Pav should get 10-15 goals, because Pav should be able to bank that many in off of you. Well, there you go.
