Detroit Red Wings
"Things Turn Quick" as Red Wings Pounce Late for 2-1 Comeback Win over the Islanders
On a night meant to honor their Magic Man Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings pull a rabbit out of the hat for a slump-busting comeback win
DETROIT—Sometimes, the break you need to escape a losing streak is a literal one. It was for the Red Wings Thursday night, who entered the evening's game having lost three on the hop before leaving it with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the visiting New York Islanders.
Through 55 minutes, the chances were coming for Detroit, but the results weren't. The Red Wings trailed 1-0 thanks to a Simon Holmstrom goal in the first period, and not even the surging power play could find a way past Ilya Sorokin in the Islander crease, with three fruitless tries in the first two periods. Then came the break: New York defenseman Alexander Romanov's stick sawed off on a shot attempt at the point, leaving the puck for Red Wings center J.T. Compher to spring winger Jonatan Berggren through the stingy Islander neutral zone.
Berggren raced in toward Sorokin on a two-on-one rush, looking off his running mate Vladimir Tarasenko before wiring a shot over the goaltender's shoulder. Little Caesars Arena erupted, and Berggren spread his arms wide as he rounded the net in celebration, welcoming the crowd's expression of the good feeling he had brought them before turning his embrace to his teammates. The play began with good fortune for Berggren, but it was his decisiveness in the face of one of the NHL's most formidable goaltenders that made it count. The clock showed 4:46 to play in regulation, and the Red Wings had life.
Perhaps the good fortune of Romanov's broken stick was one more benevolent trick from Detroit's Magic Man, Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings honored Datsyuk as their latest Hockey Hall of Fame inductee with a pre-game ceremony. Cameras trained on the reclusive magician as he took a lonely walk from the Red Wings dressing room to a red carpet laid out for him across the red line. The tight tuck of his elbow to his side as he waved to acknowledge the crowd's cheers suggested a discomfort at the fanfare. This was after all a man who, per allegations surfaced via an in-game interview with his former teammate Chris Chelios, had worn the exact same suit for the ceremony honoring his induction back in Toronto two weeks ago.
Yet the smile across Datsyuk's face as he walked out to drop a ceremonial first puck made clear his appreciation all the same. He felt the warmth the 19,013 assembled to watch the evening's action offered him, warmth that he had inspired in them with his exploits back in the old barn on the bank of the Detroit River. The blazer Chelios derided with affection featured a Hall of Fame patch, but accolades—not the two Stanley Cup or the Olympic gold medal, not the three Selke Trophies, and certainly not the four Lady Byngs—could never do justice to his art, his magic.
LCA's game operations staff was fortunate to have occasion to fill the Jumbotron with highlights of that magic—that deke to undress Marty Turco, the iconic change-up shootout flip on a helpless Antti Niemi, the unparalleled stick work to pilfer pucks from unsuspecting opponents—and the well wishes of Datsyuk's former teammates. Fresh highlights to share were few and far between for most of the evening, so the old magic would have to do.
"Bench got a little quiet on that first goal against," admitted coach Derek Lalonde. "Wasn't awful, but even as coaches, we tried to create some energy with a little extra cheerleading after that, but from that point on, our guys hung in there, battled...I thought we got what we deserved tonight." There was no more need for that cheerleading after Romanov's break, which became Berggren's and the Red Wings'.
In the final minute of regulation, Lucas Raymond ensured Detroit wouldn't need to take its chances at three-on-three overtime to return to the win column. Captain Dylan Larkin led the forecheck, and as Isles defenseman Ryan Pulock pinned him to the wall, delivered a pass to Raymond in the slot, who beat Sorokin to give the Red Wings their first lead of the night.
"Just started with a great forecheck," explained Raymond. "I think that was a theme for us this night. Larks ...just getting in there, and...getting the puck to me. It was an unbelievable play, and it just kinda bumped out to me. I felt pretty alone there, so yeah, it's nice to see it go in." He wasn't lonely long, dropping to a knee for a cathartic fist pump before being mobbed by his teammates.
In the end, it was a "huge mental fortitude night" for Detroit according to Lalonde. "There's no doubt there could be obviously a reality of feeling sorry for yourselves, especially the type of goal they scored...Nothing pretty, the goal we were trying to get and look for. But I thought our guys just hung in there. We knew we probably had to kill [a penalty] in the third, and we did, and we did a good job with it. Good on the guys."
With the win, the Red Wings stopped their skid and improved to 8-9-2 for the season. It was just two points, but it was enough to leap from dead last in the Eastern conference to just three points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand. "I don't know if it would be relief," Lalonde said, when asked about the feeling in the dressing room after the win. "I just think rewarded. Things turn quick." They certainly did Thursday night, on a broken stick, two decisive finishes, and perhaps just a hint of Datsyuk's old magic.