Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson gave a shoutout to the thousands of Red Wings fans in attendance for their 2-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver.
As one of the oldest and most storied franchises in the National Hockey League, the Detroit Red Wings boast one of the largest and strongest fan bases - not only in hockey but across professional sports as a whole.
That passion was on full display Monday evening at Denver’s Ball Arena, where thousands of Red Wings fans filled the venue in waves of red and white, punctuated by loud “Let’s Go Red Wings” chants.
There were immediate cheers when Marco Kasper lit the lamp just 33 seconds into the contest, and those fans once again erupted in jubilation when Lucas Raymond sealed the victory late in regulation with an empty-net tally.
Red Wings goaltender John Gibson, who was perfect in net with 21 saves to earn his fourth shutout, later said it was the largest contingent of Detroit fans he has seen in an opposing arena during his tenure with the club
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"Personally, I thought it was really cool," Gibson said of the thousands of Red Wings fans in attendance. "Probably the most Red Wings fans for a visiting game that I’ve experienced.
"I thought it was a great atmosphere, a really fun game to be a part of, and (I'm) glad we were able to come out on top."
Gibson held the fort down when the Avalanche were pressing late in regulation for the tying marker, which never came, helping the Red Wings to secure two valuable points in the standings.
“We knew they were going to come," Gibson said of the Avalanche. "They’re a good team, and they have a lot of skilled guys. We knew they were going to have a push, especially there in the third, but we put some pressure on ourselves."
It was the ideal response for the Red Wings in the rematch against the Avalanche, who had beaten Detroit on Saturday by a 5-0 final score, chasing Gibson after 40 minutes of play.
"We wanted to respond, and I thought everybody did a great job," he said.
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