The Detroit Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues, 4-3, in shootout Monday night to bring an 0-4-1 skid to a halt. It was perhaps their ugliest win of the season, as they allowed 33 shots to the last-place Blues while mustering just 21 of their own. The win should provide a boost to a team struggling under the weight of injuries to key players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Brad Stuart. Their troubles in recent weeks have been reminiscent of last season's awful, injury-plagued month of February, their worst of the season. Last night may have been what the team needed to snap out of it.
They still have much to work on, first and foremost being their work in their own end. This was a team last year whose primary attribute was hard work and, even before the skid, that has been lacking this season. This is particularly noticeable in their own end, where they often fall victim to a hard-working forecheck.
They also tend to make bad decisions with the puck in their zone, which leads to a complete breakdown of their game. Their puck possession game begins behind the net with the first steps of their particular brand of the breakout. All too often this season the defenseman makes the rushed play rather than the calculated one. This leads to choppy breakouts at best, but more often results in turnovers and scoring chances for the other team.
Last night was no exception on both above counts. The Blues are a young and energetic team who came gunning and ready to play in Detroit. The first period was a dud, but St. Louis outworked Detroit for most of the game and forced seven awarded giveways. In the end, however, the game came down to goaltending.
The Blues' rolled the dice with Manny Legace last night, hoping he could continue to have some measure of success against his former team. That they'd lost the bet was made evident by Kirk Maltby's goal and reinforced by Marian Hossa's first. He was pulled after the only one of the two that most goalies would have had trouble stopping, a tricky snapper from Hossa that came on just the Wings' eighth shot. Chris Mason was capable in his relief duties.
Chris Osgood, however, was more than that. Although the record shows he allowed three goals, he looked bad only one of them. That was a freaky play that included the puck getting lost in Nick Lidstrom's equipment. The other two were the result of a defensive breakdown and a redirect. Osgood's 30 saves should go a long way in restoring his confidence. He had a great game.
The Wings face Phoenix on Wednesdy and Edmonton on Saturday. The big upcoming opponent, however, is Pittsburgh on Sunday. Although the Pens have been struggling, that game is a big one. However, they should focus first on building on last night's win with a couple improving efforts this week. That way they can be in a position to put on a strong performance in front of a national crowd Sunday.
