Terry Sawchuk, Dominik Hasek, Petr Mrazek.
You put any of those three in Detroit Red Wings uniforms and what you get is Shakespearian.
As in much ado about nothing.
Mrazek turned aside all 22 shots he faced Monday and made Dylan Larkin’s first-period goal stand up in a 1-0 road victory over the New Jersey Devils.
The shutout was the seventh of an NHL career that is just 66 games old for Mrazek. That means he’s posted a shutout once every 9.42 games.
In Red Wings lore that places him in some pretty select company.
Since the dawn of the modern era with the introduction of the red line in 1943-44, only two Detroit netminders show better numbers than that, and both are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 734 games as a Wing, Terry Sawchuk posted 85 shutouts, an average of one whitewash per 8.63 games. Dominik Hasek posted 20 shutouts in 176 games for Detroit, an average of one shutout every 8.8 games.
As far as Mrazek was concerned, his greatest satisfaction came from the victory and not from the goose egg.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a shutout, 1-0 or 4-0,… Mrazek insisted. “It doesn’t matter. The two points are the most important.
“The games are so close that the win in the best thing.…
Mrazek preferred to discuss the team performance, how their attention to detail and defensive commitment made his task all the easier.
“I think the third period was probably the best period we play,… Mrazek said. “We didn’t give them any chances, any good looks in the third period.
“Yeah the guys did a great job. We had 14 blocked shots and they’ve got quick players and we didn’t give them any rebound chances to score.
“The guys did a great job in the neutral zone, didn’t give them any speed.…
Others were quick with the plaudits for the Detroit goalie.
“He’s a confident young kid, he’s playing great,… Detroit defenseman Mike Green said. “You don’t really see that sort of composure with a young goalie and he definitely has it.
“We sort of feed of that, maybe more than the forwards. That energy he presents definitely helps a lot.…
Dylan Dynamite Reclaiming the NHL lead in rookie goal scoring, Larkin netted a spectacular goal, finishing off a brilliant tape-to-tape pass from Brad Richards with a deke move that turned Devils goalie Cory Schneider into a pretzel.
“It was a blink and it was on my tape,… Larkin said. “I haven't seen it yet so there wasn't much space for that puck to land over the defenseman's stick. I think that was a nice pass.
“She (Riley Sheahan) made a great play down low to get it to Richie, and it's just a great pass.…
Even Larkin seemed a little surprised to be left with a gaping cage after he made his move on Schneider.
“Maybe I confused him because I didn’t know what I was doing at first,… Larkin said. “I was thinking about shooting it so I was pretty surprised to see the open net there.…
The Detroit players were debating which was more impressive – the dish by Richards or the finish by Larkin.
“The pass was incredible from Richards, to put it through two guys right on his tape with a little bit of elevation off the ice, so I would say Richards’ pass was a little bit nicer than Larks’ goal because we expect that from Larks,… Green said.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill was more inclined to share the wealth.
“I thought it was a great play to start with Sheahan,… Blashill said. “He showed great awareness, did a little 360, popped it to Richards and then what a pass by Richie and an outstanding finish by Larkin.
“It was a really, really high end play by all three players. Obviously that line had good success the other night in Buffalo and had a good game tonight.…
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer