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Summary: I’ve given plenty of grief to the goalies for letting in 4. Husso stopped 36 of 38 shots. The game winner was a brutal mishandle but Detroit could not score and were handily outshot. Carolina’s goal tending and relentless forecheck kept Detroit at bay as a 2-1 game went the other way tonight.
Honestly, there was a lot of good that happened. Detroit didn’t get enough pucks to the net (in relation to Carolina) and there were fantastic saves at both ends of the ice. Seider made some really nice defensive plays. Kane is starting to get that slick passing back into the game that freezes the opposition. There may be more positives in this regulation loss than in some of the wins in terms of team play and certainly in net.
If you like the white knuckle 2-1 games, this was a bit of a throwback to some of those contests against the Devils of the 1990s. No, there is no Brodeur (and there never will be again) but the feel was there. The team is in a 1 shot game for pretty much the entire night. Very different feel from what we’ve seen recently.
Chime in and let me know what you think. Do you agree that Husso had a very strong outing, but a huge misstep probably feels like a gut punch right now? Was Detroit overthinking the shot selection? Let me know in the comments.
First Period Detroit goals: No goals for Detroit in first
First Period:
At 2:26 Debrincat to the box for high sticking. Wings kill it off, but still hemmed in. Carolina scores at 4:48. 1-0 CAR. Petry rang the post with 11:30 left on a good looking rush. Shots 4-4. Huge saves by Husso on Aho with 9:30 left. Patrick Kane wish some beautiful passing and footwork with 7:30 left. Husso making big saves tonight. Another at 14:31. Husso bails out Veleno w 2mins left. Wings to pp at 18:42. Wings cant convert will start 2nd on advantage
Score: 1-0 CAR Shots: 10-8 CAR
Second Period Detroit goals: Ras gets Detroit on the board.
BIG RAS!
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 15, 2023
A beauty for his 100th career point. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/5dFDIWE1TG
Second Period:
Wings don’t convert on remaining power play, Carolina goes to power play, Detroit kills it off.
At 5:20 Ras ripped a beauty short side.
Patrick Kane got robbed on a goalie turnover with a wide open net. Shaking his head, but it was a good quick save. Credit where it’s due. Some elevation may have changed the story but 88 is getting shots on net. More than anyone since he arrived in Detroit.
Exact opposite with 8:11 left as Husso turned over puck for a tap in by Staal. 2-1 CAR. Awful to see after a fairly strong game for Husso. Carolina massively outshooting Detroit 25-15.
Detroit to power play with 1:21 left in the period. Unable to score. Will have around 40 seconds on the man advantage left to start the third.
Score: 2-1 CAR Shots: 25-19 CAR
Third Period Detroit goals: No third period goals for Detroit
Third Period:
Wings take an untimely penalty with 7:33 left. Carolina takes a penalty shortly into the advantage and Wings play keep away and run the power play down to 15 seconds of 4 on 4 then an advantage for Detroit. Shots are 36-21 as Carolina has dominated on that front. Wings fail to convert again. Veleno not a strong enough net front presence but came very close.
Copp to the box for tripping with 2:53 left. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, terrible timing. Seems very unlikely that Detroit ties this one up. Fantastic game by Husso but an mis-queue and lights out goaltending for Carolina closed the door.
Wings pull Husso with 40 seconds left. They ring the post at the end but take the loss.
Final Score: 2-1 CAR Final Shots: 38-26 CAR