Detroit continues its west coast swing by visiting Anaheim on Tuesday.
Just seven minutes into the game, Jonatan Berggren got not only his first goal of the season but the first goal of his NHL career on a power play. Berggren is a 2018 second-round pick. Ten minutes later in the period, Anaheim tied it up with a power play goal by Mason McTavish.
The second period appeared that it would end scoreless, however, Michael Rasmussen shot a wrister passed Ducks goaltender John Gibson with just :35 seconds left in the period to give the Wings the 2-1 at intermission.
It looked like Detroit was on its way to a regulation victory with less than a minute to go, John Klingberg got one past Husso to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Unfortunately, four minutes into the overtime Ryan Strome tipped in a shot to win the game for the Ducks.
Red Wings – 2
Ducks – 3
Three Stars:
1. Jonatan Berggren (first NHL goal)
2. Michael Rasmussen (1G)
3. Ville Husso (27 Saves)
On Tuesday night, the Red Wings travel to Northern California to take on the San Jose Sharks. Detroit is also trying to snap its four-game winless streak. Ville Husso gets the start again tonight.
In the first period, the Sharks got on the board first with a goal by Kevin Labanc, but only two and a half minutes later Filip Hronek scored the game-tying goal. After the Sharks killed a tripping penalty they took the lead again on a goal by Matt Nieto, 2-1 at the intermission.
The second period was pretty quiet for the first half until David Perron got one past Sharks goaltender James Reimer to tie the game. Then just five minutes later Jake Walkman got his first goal as a Red Wing after signing in August. Just like that, the Red Wings took the lead and never looked back.
The third period was more like a shootout than an actual period. The two teams combined for six goals in the period. After the Wings went up two with a wrap-around goal by center Joseph Veleno put Detroit up two, the Sharks mounted a little comeback as Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson each scored just three minutes apart to tie the game again at four. The Red Wings took over from there. Goals by Moritz Seider, Pius Sutter, and Dominik Kubalik (an empty netter), and the Red Wings finally run away with this one.
Red Wings – 7
Sharks -4
Three Stars:
1. David Perron (1G/2A)
2. Dylan Larkin (2A)
3. Jake Walkman (First goal as a Red Wing)
The Red Wings had one more road stop before heading home…Columbus. The Blue Jackets have not gotten out of the gate very well this season. They too are a team in a rebuild, though Detroit is one season further ahead.
Goaltender Ville Husso gets his sixth consecutive start, all but naming him the Red Wings starting goaltender. Tonight, he showed exactly why.
Halfway through the first period, Captain Dylan Larkin hit a slap shot that found the back of the net on the power play.
Early in the second Center Emil Bernstrom tied the game. After that, it was all Detroit.
In the second Filip Hronek scored twice bookending a goal by Ben Chiarot, making it 4-1 at the second intermission. And the Wings were not finished in this game, in the third period Detroit scored two more times when Dominik Kubalik and Tyler Bertuzzi, his first goal since returning from the injured list, found the back of the net.
Red Wings – 6
Blue Jackets – 1
Three Stars:
1. Filip Hronek (2G)
2. Dylan Larkin (1G/2A)
3. Tyler Bertuzzi (1G)
Detroit (9-5-4 22 points ) continues to look competitive and is holding the first wild card, yes it is early in the season but it is nice to see the Winged Wheel fly again…let’s see what next week holds.
David Masters