Petr Mrazek chalked up his game-saving stop to good fortune.
He credited the current season-long three-game road-winning streak of the Detroit Red Wings to a focus on responsible hockey.
“We are playing good right now,… Mrazek said after a 35-save performance in a 2-1 win Thursday at San Jose over the Sharks. “We are playing smart defensively and don’t give them many chances.…
The game was tied late in the third period when Joel Ward was left all alone on Mrazek’s doorstep and looked to have the winner on his stick, but Mrazek powered across his goal crease and made a desperation save, swatting Ward’s shot out of mid-air with his stick just before it would have entered the net.
The Wings gathered up the puck, headed the opposite way and the play finished with Justin Abdelkader blasting a one-timer past Martin Jones for the game winner.
“It’s a lucky save,… Mrazek said, downplaying his effort. “I just try to make a save.
“I thought he doesn’t have the time so I cheat on him on the glove side and he made a nice move.
“It hit my stick and then we score a goal. It was a nice save but if they would score the game would be different.…
Abdelkader has seen Mrazek make that type of stop too frequently to allow it to be classified merely as a lucky break.
“I know he did it to (Tampa Bay’s Brian) Boyle there in the playoffs (last spring) on probably a similar-type play,… Abdelkader said. “It's amazing. He's done it to me a few times in practice so I know what that feels like when you don't score.
“He's really an athletic goalie and can really move laterally, side to side, and is smart that way, got his stick on it.
“We're fortunate because that's obviously a turning point in the game.…
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill also wasn’t about to allow his goalie to downplay the significance of that moment.
“It’s a fine line between winning and losing in the league and that was a huge save at a big moment,… Blashill said. “It’s something I think he’s done a good job of throughout his time.
“It was a huge, huge save.…
Blashill has come to expect those sorts of stops from Mrazek.
“The big thing with Petr is he doesn’t get nervous,… Blashill said. “The bigger the moment, it doesn’t affect his game. He just continues to play.
“I think he enjoys being in those situations. He’s got a special mentality that way and it paid off for us tonight.…
Making his fourth straight start, the longest consecutive stretch by a Detroit goalie this season, it’s evident that Mrazek has, at least for the time being, won the battle to be the Wings’ No. 1 goalie from Jimmy Howard.
“When you play you’ve got the confidence,… Mrazek said. “You feel good.
“Everything is the same every night.…
Killing Field The Sharks were afforded two late first-period power plays and a third early in the second period, all when the score was 1-1 and the Wings, who’ve struggled on the penalty kill of late, successfully fended off all three chances for San Jose.
Mrazek offered a simple explanation for the solid work of the PK unit.
“Yeah, Millsy’s back,… Mrazek said of forward Drew Miller, seeing his first action since suffering a fractured jaw Dec. 3. “He’s a great guy on the penalty kill.…
That likely mattered even more so in the first period, since it was Luke Glendening, another of Detroit’s top penalty killers, who was sitting out both of those infractions.
“The penalty kill kept us in it there,… Abdelkader said. “They could easily get a goal or two there and get us back on our heels more. It's tough to play from behind in this league so they did a great job.
“It helped getting Millsie back, especially when Glennie was in the box there for a couple of penalties. That was positive.…
DK Tallies The last time Danny DeKeyser scored was in the previous game that Miller played on Dec. 3 against the Arizona Coyotes.
Thursday, he joined the rush to give the Wings a 1-0 first-period lead.
“Anytime we can get the fourth guy in the rush, in today’s game that’s how you produce a lot of offense, the late guy, hitting him behind you,… DeKeyser said. “So I saw an opening.
“(Gustav) Nyquist had the puck in the D-zone on the wall and he had pretty good control of it, so I just went for it, tried to beat their forwards up the ice and it worked out.…
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