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Make that six wins in a row |
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They’ve won six in a row for the first time in almost two years.
Their captain hasn’t got a goal to his credit yet this season but he has a game-winning goal.
And no matter which goalie they hand the start to, he stands on his head.
Yeah, things are going quite well for the Detroit Red Wings these days.
A 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues Thursday at Scottrade Center, Detroit’s fifth straight in St. Louis, required nine rounds of shootout action and was decided when Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg, still without a goal this season, slipped the puck through the legs of Blues goalie Jake Allen.
“When you can come in as the ninth shooter you don’t have that much to lose,” joked Zetterberg.
With St. Louis shooting first in the shootout, Detroit coach Jeff Blashill indicated that he was waiting for the right moment to deploy Zetterberg, keeping him on the bench for a time as a safety valve.
“The one thing I was thinking was if they did score and we needed somebody to come back with a goal, he was the guy that would have went for me at that point because he’s got that kind of poise under pressure,” Blashill said of Zetterberg.
Running their winning streak to six games, the Wings previously won six in a row from Jan. 13-27, 2015. Detroit hasn’t posted a seven-game winning streak since Jan. 12-23, 2013 and the 6-2 start to the season is the best by the club since also opening 6-2 in 2013-14.
Petr’s Century
Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek blocked eight of nine shots in the shootout to post his 50th NHL win in his 100th NHL appearance, and to also get the victory in the same rink where he achieved the first win of his NHL career in 2013.
Mrazek is 4-0 in his career in St. Louis. He posted a 4-0 shutout in his second start there in 2014 and won 3-2 in overtime in 2015 but seemed unimpressed by it all.
“I wouldn’t say it’s special,” Mrazek said of St. Louis. “My first (game was here), my 100th today.
“I’m happy both the games were wins.”
Nielsen tallies
Newcomer Frans Nielsen scored his second goal of the season, a shorthanded tally to make it 1-1 and send the game into extra time.
Earlier in the day, Blashill sought to let Nielsen know that he didn’t consider the measure of the man to be a crooked number in the goals column.
“I talked to Frans today to make sure that he knows that I know he’s playing great hockey,” Blashill said. “I don’t look at points, especially with him. He’s a complete player.
“I just wanted to make sure he knew he was playing really great hockey. He’s got the ability to put points on the board for sure. It’s good to see him score.”
Ott Honored
The Blues showed a video tribute to Wings forward Steve Ott, who played for St. Louis from 2013-15.
“You know I didn’t expect it,” Ott said. “I was only here for a couple years but it’s just a first-class organization to do something like that.
“That’s a testament to the organization here, first class all the way. There’s a reason why the alumni always stayed around for such a long time and always come back to this place, too. They have great fans, great ownership and obviously their general manager is world class and so are the coaches.
“You add all those things with the training staff here and it’s always been a first-class organization. It kind of got me emotional, that’s for sure.”
Lineup Shuffle
The Wings welcomed one forward back and immediately lost another to injury.
Left-winger Justin Abdelkader returned after a two-game absence due to a lower-body injury.
“It feels like a lot longer but it was only two games,” Abdelkader said. “I feel good now.”
On the flip side, right-winger Thomas Vanek said out Thursday’s game with a hip flexor issue.
“Day-to-day,” Blashill said of Vanek’s status. “I just found out about it this morning at the morning skate.”
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