The Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes battle into a shootout at PNC Arena
The first-place team in the Central Division played the last-place team Saturday.
For a long time, it was hard telling which was the better team at PNC Arena. It took overtime and then seven rounds of a shootout to decide it, and the Detroit Red Wings emerged with a 5-4 victory.
Adam Erne, who had scored with 6:20 left in regulation, had the winning shootout goal in the seventh round for the Wings (14-23-6). Goalie Thomas Greiss allowed only a shootout goal to Andrei Svechnikov while Erne and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit against Petr Mrazek.
The Canes (27-9-4) and Tampa Bay both have 58 points in the Central, although the Canes with one game-in-hand have the best winning percentage (.725). Tampa Bay shut out Nashville on Saturday.
“Overall, we weren’t sharp,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I didn’t like our power play. It wasn’t sharp. We didn’t do anything we talked about doing before the game. We just weren’t sharp tonight.”
Sebastian Aho’s goal, soon after an apparent score was nullified, tied the score 4-4 for the Canes with four minutes left in regulation. Aho’s 17th of the season came on an unchecked shot from the left circle and earned the Canes a point.
“You got to give the guys credit for hanging in there,” Brind’Amour said.
Erne’s goal in the third pushed the Red Wings in front 4-3. Erne first blocked a shot by Canes defenseman Jake Gardiner, raced after the puck and beat Mrazek with a backhander.
The Canes appeared to tie the score with 5:13 left in the third when Nino Niederreiter went to the front of the net to tip in the puck. But Detroit coach Jeff Blashill challenged the score, claiming goaltender interference by Niederreiter, and after review it was ruled no-goal as Canes fans booed.
“But we didn’t hang our heads,” Brind’Amour said. “We go back out on the next couple of shifts and at least get us a point and a chance to win the game in overtime or the shootout.”
The Canes scored quickly in the first as Martin Necas ripped a shot from the left circle. Playing in their green reverse retro jerseys -- think Hartford Whalers -- they nearly added another as defenseman Jake Bean had a shot glance the crossbar, and pressured Greiss early in the game.
But the Red Wings responded, taking a 2-1 lead in the first on goals by Larkin and Anthony Mantha. A quick team, they buzzed around Mrazek at times, looking for deflections and quick hitters.
“We were kind of chasing the game a little bit,” defenseman Dougie Hamilton said. “There’s been close games against them and every game has been a grind and we knew that and expected that.”
Jordan Staal tied it 2-2 in the first on a shot straight out of the Staal family hockey playbook: a wrister from the right circle that beats the goalie to the far side.
Staal inadvertently contributed a goal for the Red Wings. After Hamilton gave the Canes the lead in the second, scoring on a shot as he fell over Detroit’s Christian Djoos, the Wings tied it with a fortunate bounce.
Val Filppula was credited with the goal after the puck was knocked around in front of Mrazek and Staal lost sight of it, hitting it through Mrazek’s pads with a skate.
The Canes played a tight, hard-checking style in twice beating the Florida Panthers. But they were looser in the defensive zone Saturday, not as focused and not winning as many board battles.
“I don’t know how many shots we got but it didn’t feel like we had that much offensive-zone time,” Necas said. “We didn’t really rumble them down low like we usually do. And they scored some lucky goals. Some unlucky bounces for us. But that’s what happens when you go to the net.
“It wasn’t like a terrible game for us but we know we can be better.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2021 at 6:41 PM.
