WINTER CLASSIC
The much-anticipated Winter Classic came and went New Years Day with the Red Wings earning a point but losing in the shootout. The atmosphere was wild, energetic, and picturesque as the snow fell on The Big House on Wednesday afternoon. The record crowd of 105, 491 fans braved the cold to watch the NHL’s mid season showcase event.
The game itself was choppy to start and initially it seemed as if it would be a battle for the fourth lines. The Red Wings outshot the Leafs 13-5 in the first but failed to get any past Jonathan Bernier.
In the second period both teams, particularly the Wings, found their footing in the elements. After Jimmy Howard made two huge saves to keep the game scoreless five minutes into the second, Daniel Alfredsson opened the scoring just after the halfway mark, much to the chagrin of Leafs Nation.
James van Riemsdyk batted a rebound out of the air and past Howard to even the score before the end of the period. Shots in the second were as close to even as the Leafs would get, as they were one shot shy of the Wings’ 14.
The Leafs pulled ahead of the Wings early in the third on a high tip-in from Tyler Bozak, playing in just his second game since coming back from injury. Bozak barely got his stick on the Phaneuf point shot, but the redirection was just enough to beat Howard.
As time in the third ticked away, it began to look like nothing would get passed Bernier when Brendan Smith pinched in from the right point and beat van Riemsdyk to the puck. Smith fed the puck across to a streaking Justin Abdelkader, who out-battled Cody Franson for position in the slot to redirect the puck to the back of the net for the tying goal.
As if it was written by the NHL itself, regulation time expired and overtime didn’t solve anything, the Winter Classic headed to a shootout.
Alfreddson attempted a deke to the backhand and missed wide.
JVR tried to go backhand on Howard but was denied.
Magic Man Pavel Datsyuk showed that it doesn’t matter how much snow there is on the ice, he can still score a pretty shootout goal.
Joffrey Lupul pulled the Leafs to even with a wrister passed Howard.
With the game on his stick, Tomas Tatar couldn’t get the puck to settle and he barely got a shot on Bernier.
With the chance to get the win, Tyler Bozak made no mistake and beat Jimmy Howard stick side.
The Winter Classic was exactly the spectacle it’s supposed to be. The snow fell, the ice surface was open to the sky, and every player talked about how they grew up playing on the outdoor rink.
While everyone was waxing poetic about skating on the pond and reminiscing about learning to play the game, it’s easy to forget that there were two important points at stake.
The game itself was a strong game for the Wings. Considering the conditions, which would seem to favor a team that is less reliant on skill and puck possession, the Wings controlled the puck and pace of play surprisingly well.
Daniel Cleary, Luke Glendenning, and Drew Miller were a major part of the momentum for the Wings. The fourth line (Cleary, Glendenning, Eaves) was broken up after the Eaves left the game following a high cross-check by Joffrey Lupul. The checking line started each period and was out following each Detroit goal.
Glendenning took 22 face-offs, second only to Pavel Datsyuk and was 57% in the offensive zone. Cleary, Glendenning, and Miller combined for almost a quarter of the Red Wings 43 shots and made their presence felt against the Leafs.
Pavel Datsyuk proved that no amount of snow could slow his hands down. It usually goes without saying that Datsyuk is one of the most skilled players in the league but in a game where many players understandably had trouble controlling the puck on the snowy ice, the Magic Man seemed relatively unhindered by the white stuff.
Brendan Smith was arguably the Wings’ best defenseman New Years Day. Smith notched two assists and played strong defensively on the back end. Smith cleared the puck to safety off a Phil Kessel rebound in overtime that may have been a game saver for the Wings.
Jimmy Howard showed signs of his former self throughout the Winter Classic. He wasn’t beat once off any standard shots. The only goals to get passed him were circus shots (JVR’s mid-air rebound goal) and tip-ins (Bozak’s). Howard turned away the Leafs strongest scoring chances and earned the second star of the game.
While the Leafs got the full two points and Detroit only left with one, the game was positive for the Red Wings. The Wings dominated regulation play and outshot the Leafs 43-26. They played their game while simultaneously adapting and leaning on their grinders to cope with the elements. A win in the shootout would have been nice but the shootout in an outdoor game is especially arbitrary and could’ve gone either way. Many would question why the Detroit shooters would deke when then obviously safer thing to do would be shoot instead of risk bobbling the puck in the snow. If we, the fans, are thinking shot, chances are Jonathan Bernier was thinking the same thing. Attempting to deke may have been riskier but it does have an added element of surprise in an outdoor game.
The Wings now sit one point back of the Leafs in the Atlantic Division standings and four points ahead of the Devils in the Wild card standings. After two days off, the Wings will take on the Stars in Dallas and then have a four-day break before a Western swing, in which they’ll play San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim.