Motown Mojo - Detroit Red Wings

[Tonic]

Offense sputters again, Hawks beat Wings 2-1

Chicago, IL - Sometimes things just don't go your way. Not just in hockey, but in life too. That was the case tonight, as Brent Seabrook's wristshot from the blue line hit the leg of Jonathan Ericsson and found its way in the back of the net. This ended up standing as the game winning goal.

Damien Brunner started the scoring in the 1st period, beating Chicago goalie Corey Crawford with a wristshot under his glove, giving Brunner goals in back to back games. Michael Rozsival scored on a wristshot on a faceoff to tie the game just mintues later. Seabrook's goal came with over six minutes left to play in the 2nd period.

Said coach Mike Babcock after the loss:

"I thought we did some good things out there tonight. Obviously Chicago is a deep and talented team. We spent too much time in our own zone and that will cost you in this league. It certainly did tonight."

A reporter also asked Babcock about the line shuffling he did midway in the 3rd period. "I thought Abby (Abdelkader) and Gus (Nyquist) were playing well. Pav (Datsyuk) is Pav and is always playing well. I wanted to see those guys play together and I think they did a good job other than Gus' penalty late in the 3rd. Abby took pucks hard to the net which I like to see."

Babcock was also unsure of his lines for the next game but assured the reporters that he will be shuffling some of the lines to provide a spark for the team.

Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks
Oct 20, 2013 1 2 3 F DET (1-3-0) 1 0 0 1 CHI (3-1-0) 1 1 0 2 Three Stars Howard 2.01 GAA, .939 SV%, 32 saves Crawford 1.00 GAA, .950 SV%, 19 saves Seabrook GWG, 3 shots	Team Stats Comparison DET CHI Shots on Goal 20 33 Hits 13 4 Faceoffs Won-Lost 18-12 12-18 Penalty Minutes 8:00 0:00 Power Plays Converted 0 1 Power Play Opportunities 0 4 Time on Attack 5:13 7:13
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD DET 3:45 Brunner (2) (Zetterberg, Nyquist) CHI 5:32 Rosival (Bolland) SECOND PERIOD CHI 6:39 Seabrook (Hossa, Toews)

Game Notes:

Detroit has now gone two consecutive games without a powerplay...In just his 2nd NHL game, Brian Lashoff logged 19:06 on the ice

[Tonic]

Offense awakens, but Canucks too much for Wings

Detroit, MI - Detroit scored 3 goals, the same number they've scored in the last 3 games combined, but Vancouver scored 4 2nd period goals en route to a 5-3 victory. Alex Burrows had a goal and two assists, while the Sedin brothers each tallied 2 points. Henrik Zetterberg scored 2 goals, but was -1 on the night, and Jakub Kindl added a goal and an assist. Tonight's loss drops Detroit to 1-4-0 on the season, their worst start in 14 years.

"It's still early in the season, but obviously we've hit a bit of a bump in the road right now. I'm very confident in our veterans and leaders to step up, take control, and right the ship. I have no further comment at this time," said coach Mike Babcock after the loss.

Look for backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was signed this past offseason, to start in goal tomorrow in Columbus, as Howard has started all 5 games this season.

[Tonic]

Bobrovsky dominates, shuts out Red Wings

Columbus, OH - Sergei Bobrovsky recorded a 28-save shutout and Fedor Tyuin assisted on all three Columbus goals, helping his team to a 3-0 victory over Detroit. RJ Umberger and Vinny Prospal scored goals 15 seconds apart in the 1st period for Columbus, and Derick Brassard added a goal of his own in the 2nd period. The Red Wings are now on a 5-game losing streak and are 1-5-0 on the season.

When asked about Jimmy Howard's performance the last two games, Babcock snapped, "Jimmy's great. He came in to my office after last night's game and said he wanted to start today too. He's a big part of our team. I let him start because I liked his confidence." Howard allowed 3 goals on 24 shots.

Babcock said he is giving the team tomorrow to collect themselves before coming back to practice on Thursday. The team hosts San Jose on Friday.

[Tonic]

Wings losing streaks extends to 6 games

Detroit, MI - There's a rough patch, then there's what the Detroit Red Wings are going though right now as their 6-game losing streak is the longest in 18 years.

Patrick Marleau scored from a sharp angle in the 3rd period to give San Jose a 3-2 lead and goalie Antti Niemi made a huge save on Daniel Cleary as the time expired as the Sharks held on to defeat the Red Wings 3-2.

James Sheppard got the party started with a goal in the 1st period. He was left all alone in front for Detroit's goal and converted the feed from the corner by Michael Handzus. Late in the 2nd period, Red Wing captain Henrik Zetterberg forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway, beating Niemi 5-hole. Justin Abdelkader provided the go-ahead goal four minutes later by making a nice deke around a San Jose defender, but that lead would be short-lived. Andrew Desjardins scored on a rebound less than a minute later to tie the game going into the 3rd period.

"It's just frustrating right now. We're doing everything we can to win (out) there, but just can't get one. We'll be ready to go tomorrow in Winnipeg," said captain Henrik Zetterberg.

Mike Babcock said he will make no line-up changes other than Jonas Gustavsson making his first start of the season in goal.

San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings
Oct 26, 2013 1 2 3 F SJS (5-0-1) 1 1 1 3 DET (1-6-0) 0 2 0 2 Three Stars Marleau GWG, 4 hits, 2 shots, +1 Desjardins 1 G, 3 hits, +1 Zetterberg 1 G, 3 shots, +1	Team Stats Comparison SJS DET Shots on Goal Hits Faceoffs Won-Lost Penalty Minutes Power Plays Converted Power Play Opportunities Time on Attack
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD SJS 7:07 Sheppard (3) (Handzus, Burns) SECOND PERIOD DET 15:03 Zetterberg (3) (Unassisted) DET 19:22 Abdelkader (1) (Smith, Cleary) SJS 19:55 Desjardins (1) (Wingels, Demers) THIRD PERIOD SJS 12:46 Marleau (3) (Havlat, Murray)

Game Notes:

Jordin Tootoo was -1 with 2:00 penalty minutes in his first game as a Red Wing...Defenseman Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson played under 20 minutes for the first time all season.

[Tonic]

Gustavsson leads Wings to win, ends losing streak at 6

Winnipeg, MB - Jonas Gustavsson made 32 saves and only allowed two goals, leading Detroit to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets and more importantly, snapping Detroit's losing streak at 6 games. Niklas Kronwall scored the go-ahead goal with under nine minutes left in the game with a slapshot off a faceoff. Gustav Nyquist and Valtteri Filppula also scored for Detroit, while Charlie Thorburn and Andrew Ladd had goals for Winnipeg.

Mike Babcock announced that Gustavsson will start Detroit's next game in Vancouver. He also announced that defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will be out approximately one week with an upper-body injury. He will likely be replaced in the lineup by Carlo Colaiacovo.

[Tonic]

Luongo outduels Gustavsson, Wings fall 2-0

Vancouver, BC - Roberto Loungo stopped all 34 shots he faced, Alex Gordon and Alex Burrows scored 3rd period goals for Vancouver, and the Canucks shut out the Red Wings 2-0. Jonas Gustavsson made 25 saves for Detroit.

Coach Mike Babcock announced after the game that Jonas Gustavsson will make the next start in goal for Detroit.

Game Notes:

Johan Franzen went down with a lower-body injury in the 1st period and expects to miss a week of action...Dan Clearly led all forwards in ice time with 22:35.

[Tonic]

Datsyuk leads Red Wings in thriller!

Calgary, AB - Pavel Datsyuk is a special, special player. Datsyuk scored with 1.1 seconds left in overtime, putting his own rebound past Calgary goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, leading the Red Wings to a 4-3 victory.

Jakub Kindl scored a goal in the 1st and 2nd periods, and captain Henrik Zetterberg followed with a goal of his own to give Detroit a 3-0 lead. Mike Cammalleri scored with 6 minutes remaining in the 2nd period to cut Detroit's lead to 3-1 entering the 3rd period. Alex Tanguay and former Red Wing Jiri Hudler each scored in the 3rd period to tie the game at 3-3. Then came Datsyuk's heroics.

With under 10 seconds in the period, Datsyuk received the puck at his own blue line, carried the puck into the Calgary zone and fired a wristshot that was saved by Kiprusoff. Datsyuk then willed his way to the goal, collecting the rebound and firing the puck past Kiprusoff, sending the Red Wing bench into a frenzy.

"It fun to score goals," said Datsyuk. "I do to help team win big games. Tonight big was game. I was happy to score goal."

Jonas Gustavsson made 33 saves on 36 shots for Detroit. Coach Mike Babcock said Gustavsson will continue to start in goal for Detroit

[Tonic]

Penalties cost Oilers, Wings win 4-2

Edmonton, AB - Damien Brunner and Valtteri Filppula each scored powerplay goals, as Detroit's powerplay converted 2 of 8 opportunites on the night, helping propel the team in a 4-2 victory over Edmonton. Jonas Gustavsson was strong in goal once again, stopping 24 of 26 shots. Darren Helm and Carlo Colaiacovo added goals for Detroit. Gustav Nyquist also had two assists.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ales Hemsky provided the goals for Edmonton.

Game Notes:

Coach Mike Babcock said he hasn't yet decided on a goalie for Tuesday's game at home against Edmonton...defenseman Brendan Smith will be out approximately one week with an upper body injury.