The Detroit Red Wings made their point, but once again missed their mark.
A 5-4 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets Saturday at Joe Louis Arena allowed the Wings to maintain their streak of not going consecutive games without registering a point, but the loss dropped their dismal shootout mark to 2-8 on the season.
“It’s a good time for fans if the home team wins,… Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk said of the shootout. “It’s entertainment, but sometimes you kind of make it not true.…
Helmsman Darren Helm scored for Detroit and was a dominant force all game long, collecting three points. His goal was his 12th of the season, tying his career high set in 2010-11.
“He’s more dangerous and he shoots more,… Datsyuk said of Helm. “He’s more like in the play.
“Behind the net, he handles the puck and makes everybody dangerous. With his speed he’s unbelievable.…
After two injury-riddled campaigns, Helm admitted he’s been feeling more like himself this season and the results are apparent.
“Yeah, I’m just chipping away, trying to find some holes and get some opportunities,… Helm said. “Confidence is probably a little bit more of a factor in my game lately and when pucks are going in you get confidence and when you’re playing well you have confidence.
“And when you’re healthy, too.…
Known as a checker earlier in his career, Detroit coach Mike Babcock felt Helm was on a path to becoming a more productive player when his route was derailed by a series of debilitating injuries.
“I also think he’s come of age, too,… Babcock said. “He’s been hurt for a couple years. He was going in the right direction before he got hurt.
“I thought he was one of our most dominant players. I don’t know who was the best forward today, Pav or him. One of the two.…
Daily Double Datsyuk scored twice for Detroit, ending a personal nine-game goalless drought.
The first was a bit of a fluke. Stationed in front of the Winnipeg net, Helm’s rising shot clipped Datsyuk in the arm and bounced into the Jets net.
“I’m now playing like (Tomas) Holmstrom game,… Datsyuk said, citing the retired Red Wing whose net-front presence was legendary.
His second tally was more vintage Datsyuk. Coming off the bench, he took a feed from defenseman Brendan Smith and rifled home a hard, low wrist shot.
“I see Smitty handle the puck and that I have an option I can jump in the middle,… Datsyuk explained. “He made a nice pass. “I just needed to shoot it on net. Somebody taking my job now while I’m shooting. Somebody else in front of the net.…
Howard Starts Making his first start since suffering a groin injury Jan. 10, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard let a couple of softies leak by early, but shook off the rink rust and was solid down the stretch as Winnipeg turned it on.
“Wow, being five weeks, you know getting back out there, but it was great being out there competing with the guys,… Howard said. “Obviously several of tonight’s standards I wasn’t happy about, but I’m not going to get too down on myself right now.
“I’m going to watch the video tomorrow and try to learn from my mistakes.…
Datsyuk felt Howard battled through his early issues and got stronger as the game wore on.
“He have kind of a little bit tough game, but in the end, he make lots of huge saves to keep us in it in overtime,… Datsyuk said, citing a strong Detroit penalty killing effort over the final two minutes of overtime.
“Especially on the special teams in overtime, they do an unbelievable job. We had a chance to win in the shootout, but somebody didn’t score including me first.…
Howard dropped to 0-6 in shootouts despite stopping the first three shots he faced before Drew Stafford beat him with the only goal.
“Jimmy played great in the shootout,… Detroit forward Luke Glendening said. “He made some huge saves for us.
“It’s obviously frustrating for us that we couldn’t put the puck in the net. That’s not a reflection on Jimmy at all. He played great.…
Kindl Down The Wings assigned seldom-used defenseman Jakub Kindl to their AHL farm club in Grand Rapids on a conditioning stint.
Kindl is slated to play four games with the club’s farm team and rejoin the Red Wings in time for the California segment of their month-ending six-game road trip.
The former first-round draft pick missed 12 games recently with an elbow injury. He hasn’t suited up for the Wings since a Dec. 27 game at Ottawa.
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