In Play Magazine
The Detroit Red Wings just couldn’t cap off a remarkable comeback and lost 6-5 in a shootout to Edmonton.
Edmonton opened the game with goals from Jean-Francois Jacques (0:42), Dustin Penner (9:09), and Ales Hemsky (12:24). Ales Hemsky added a second goal only 58 seconds into the second period on a breakaway.
Darren Helm would net his first career regular season goal to put the Wings on the board, but Shawn Horcoff responded a couple minutes later. Then Henrik Zetterberg played some pinball and sent the Wings to the dressing room only three goals down.
Somewhere during the second intermission someone told Patrick Eaves that his career is on the line this season and he played like it from that point on, recording an assist, his first point as a Red Wing, on Jonathan Ericsson’s goal and netting the tying goal on a misplayed puck off the stick of Darren Helm. Todd Bertuzzi also scored for Detroit.
In overtime Nikolai Khabibulin stood on his head and Jimmy Howard did likewise on the opposite end of the ice. In the shootout, Patrick O’Sullivan beat Howard off the post, but Howard came up big on the first two shooters. The Wings did little in the shootout, just skating in and dumping the puck into Khabibulin without effort.
The Wings dug themselves into a hole and then got out of it. Edmonton looked like the flu began to show its effects as the team just seemed to die off halfway through the third period. Unfortunately for Detroit, Valtteri Filppula suffered a broken wrist during the game and will miss the next six to eight weeks.
In Play! Man of the Game: Patrick Eaves. Finishing the game with a goal and assist and plus-3 on the night, Eaves put to rest some of his naysayers for at least tonight.
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