DETROIT—The Ducks came into Joe Louis Arena and left with sweet revenge. Dominating the Detroit Red Wings from start to finish, the Ducks ran them off in a 5-2 rout on Tuesday night. Anaheim’s five best scored in a row handingDetroit their sixth consecutive loss.
Detroit has two big hurdles to jump against their former Western Conference rivals. The first is to hold Anaheim from completing unfinished business as they took the Ducks out of the playoffs last season. The second is to do so while shorthanded of eight key players out of the lineup. A major call up from Detroit’s AHL Grand Rapids team set their roster to go against a strong Ducks squad. The Ducks hold a five-game winning streak and look to take winning at the Joe a strong must win.
The Red Wings got off to scoring four minutes into the first period as Tomas Jurco took a pass in front of the net from Drew Miller to score his first NHL career goal. The Ducks didn’t take long to respond as Jakob Silfverberg scored on a bad defensive coverage by Detroit scoring his first goal since returning from an injury dating back to late October. Nick Bonino scored on another open opportunity provided by the Red Wings to score in his second straight game.
Detroit’s Kyle Quincey made a big mistake as he pushed Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf into the boards where it left the Anaheim center bleeding from the mouth, but able to skate off the ice on his own. It put the Ducks on a five minute power play and Quincey out with a game misconduct for boarding.Detroit caught a break in the final two minutes to send the Ducks power play to four on four as the first period was coming to a close. Anaheim took a 3-1 lead on Corey Perry’s snap shot that beat out Gustavsson and took him out of the game.
Petr Mrazek took over to stop the bleeding, but before time could expire, the Ducks added more to their lead. Mikko Koivu ran the puck in the final seconds to set up Sami Vatanen with his fourth of the season that had to be double checked as it was unclear if it beat the clock. Officials confirmed the fourth unanswered and sent the Red Wings scratching their heads. Anaheimoutshot Detroit 12-5 in a heated pace that didn’t seem to go away.
The Ducks began where they left off starting the second taking Detroit for a run on the ice as they continued to struggle on defense, blocking shots on net and supporting Mrazek who is their final hope to keeping the Ducks from increasing their lead any further. Getzlaf made his way back on to the ice as he spent his time off taking stitches to his lip. Saku Koivu scored off the faceoff where three shots on Mrazek caught the Detroit defense in a scattering patter for the Finn to take his fourth of the season and quiet the fans a little more. It was clear that the Ducks weren’t giving the Red Wings an inch as they outshot them 10-7 while barely showing strength on their end.
The Ducks took their time skating around the rink with their mission to score further goals against their opponents who were all but out. The Red Wings worked on their defense since making a comeback was out of the question. The Ducks outshot Detroit, but before the game could be concluded the Red Wings added another goal to their score. Daniel Cleary caught a break in front of Jonas Hiller to score his third of the season. The score said enough on its own as Hiller picked up his 14th victory stopping 16 of 18 on the night. Mrazek earned the loss with him playing over 40 minutes making 17 saves. His performance with two goals allowed came along with tremendous glove saves and taking his own defense to a higher level than where his team had been.
The Red Wings youth filled squad did their best while under pressure against veteran players like Selanne, Koivu and Perry. The Ducks continued success moves them further east meeting the New Jersey Devils. The Red Wings continue their homestand, but hope to clear their season long depression at home which dates back to 1986.
