Mike Babcock won his milestone 500th NHL game, but it came the hard way, as the Detroit Red Wings rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit for a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers Saturday at Joe Louis Arena, ending a five-game losing streak to the Rangers.
“The two points tonight means way more,… Babcock said. “I thought that was a real gutty win. We got down 2-0 and weren’t as competitive as we like to be and then battled our way right back.
“Don’t get me wrong, 500’s great. Doing it with so many good players and good teams is really great. When you start in the league, you’re hoping to coach 82 games, to be honest with you. You’re just hoping to get through and not get fired. Your second year, you’re hoping to get another 82, and then you don’t think about it anymore.
“You kind of have the same mind you had when you coached college hockey. You just coach and do what you love to do. To have 500 wins in the National Hockey League means I’ve coached a lot of good players, but I like the fact that I’ve done it fairly quickly, too. That’s positive. It’s been enjoyable. I love it as much or maybe more as the day I started.…
Only Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (825 games), the NHL’s winningest coach with 1,244 victories, reached the 500-win plateau faster than Babcock, who did it in 895 games.
“The big one for me is obviously Scotty Bowman because he’s such a good friend of mine,… Babcock said. “Scotty Bowman’s always going to be the greatest coach in our game because it’s impossible in the era today to do what Scotty did. When you’re a friend of his, it’s good. He’s the guy who did it quicker than I did, and he should do it quicker. I feel like that. It’s positive.…
Hard Fought The Wings improved to 4-1-1 when trailing after one period this season and their penalty killers stepped up big time in the third period, killing of 5:24 of consecutive shorthanded time, including a stint of 2:36 when they were down two players.
“Probably not the best recipe to close out a game, but we found a way and that’s all that matters,… Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said.
The trouble started with a too-many-men penalty at 9:13. Then Kyle Quincey was assessed a double minor for high-sticking at 10:26 and Jonathan Ericsson followed him to the penalty box, also for high-sticking at 12:37.
“I thought it was incredible,… Babcock said. “It’s tough when you’re (down) 5 on 3. It’s really tough. I thought our guys really gutted it out and dug in.…
To the Wings, the success was simply a matter of playing confidently and outworking the Rangers.
“The five on threes, you’ve got to play your systems and stay tight and know what you’re doing out there and at the same time, you’ve got to count on your goalie to make the big saves,… Detroit forward Drew Miller said. “Howie stepped up and made the saves and we were able to get through that.…
Unusual Sources Riley Sheahan got Detroit’s comeback started with a goal late in the second period, then some of the Wings’ lesser offensive lights lit the lamp. Luke Glendening tied the scored just 1:11 after Sheahan’s goal with just the third goal of his NHL career. In the third period, checker Darren Helm potted the game-winner, his fifth of the season and third in two games.
“Sometimes those guys don’t score as much for us,… Babcock said. “When you think of the guys who today did some scoring for us, they’re real competitive guys that penalty kill and grind for us. That’s what you need in some games.
“There were a lot of gutty efforts. Glenny’s line and the penalty kill was outstanding. Helmer had as good a game as he’s had this year.
“You’ve got to give credit to Howie. It doesn’t always go the way you want as a goalie. It hadn’t gone the way he wanted in the first, but he just put up a wall of plywood there. If they get to three, we don’t win. So it was a real good job by Howie here today I thought in the final 40.…
He’s OK Miller struggled to get to the bench midway through the third period after being kicked in the left leg by the skate of Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, but returned to help with the penalty-killing success later in the frame.
“His skate came up and kind of kicked me right in my knee,… Miller said. “I was kind of bent over. He kicked me pretty hard and he even said, ‘Oh, my God, I think I got you.’
“The knee cap of my shin pad pushed in and was pushing against my knee cap. I couldn’t move my leg because it wasn’t allowing my knee cap to move. So I just thought, I don’t know, just kind of a weird play. Thank God it was just the knee cap of my shin pad pushing in there and not a cut.…
Miller owns the longest active consecutive games played streak on the Red Wings, extending it to 109 games Saturday.
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