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The Detroit Red Wings are in Boston tonight looking to carry the momentum gained from a third period comeback resulting in a 3-2 overtime victory last night in Raleigh versus the Hurricanes. It took a late third period goal by
Henrik Zetterberg amidst a wild scramble in front of
Cam Ward to tie up the contest at two goals apiece before setting the stage for
Stephen Weiss' first goal as a Red Wing to win it in the extra frame.
Despite the victory and the two points in the Atlantic Division standings, the Red Wings know they will need a more complete effort in the second-half of this back-to-back against a rested Bruins' club (1-0-0), if they want to best the team most believe will rival the Red Wings for first place in the Atlantic Division this season. (7:00pm ET, Fox Sports Detroit, NHL Network - US)
Despite not playing as well in their road opener last night as they did in the season opener vs. Buffalo, the Red Wings managed to continue to hold the
Corsi/Fenwick advantage when looking at some of the analytical data compiled from the contest. Although that information is useful to dissect, the "eye test" made it appear as if the Hurricanes possessed the better scoring chances with the Red Wings seemingly content to trade rushes, skate on the periphery and essentially playing to the level of a team most observers would suggest is not as talented as Detroit.
Nevertheless, picking up two points on the road is never something to complain about. Yes, the chemistry of some of the lines up front appear to be off. Let's remember it is only Game 2.
Mikael Samuelsson was pretty much stapled to the bench in the 3rd period and may open the door for
Tomas Tatar to make his first appearance of the season. If so, would love to see him take the place of
Todd Bertuzzi and slide Bertuzzi to the 4th line with
Drew Miller and
Cory Emmerton.
With the Wings having five days until their next game, Thursday night at the Joe Louis Arena against Phoenix, the expectation is the Red Wings will elevate their game tonight against the division's "Top Dog" despite finishing one point back of Montreal for the division crown last season.
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