The Detroit Red Wings needed a dominant performance. One underlying stat showed just how good they looked in Thursday night’s win.
Detroit’s best defensive performance of the season came on Thursday night, when it went a staggering 39 minutes and 14 seconds without allowing a single shot on goal. That is nearly the equivalent of two full periods without the goaltender coming through to make a big save.
As a result, the Red Wings allowed 13 shots on goal on Thursday against the struggling Vancouver Canucks. That included five shots on goal in the first period. And nothing between the 7:02 mark of the first period, when Elias Pettersson scored, and the 6:16 mark of the third period, when Jake DeBrusk fired a snap shot at backup goaltender Michal Postava.
Vancouver finally got the shots going from that moment onward, trying to take advantage of Postava making his Red Wings debut. Postava got the call when Daniil Tarasov landed on the injury report. An upper-body injury shelved starter John Gibson for the final period, leading to Postava finishing the game.
Still, Detroit held its own, and Postava managed to stop seven out of eight shots. That gives him something to build on if and when he’s called on again.
Red Wings Needed To Dominate After A Slow Start To The Season
Detroit has been one of the NHL’s best teams defensively, ranking sixth with 28 goals allowed through 10 games. This has come despite marginal play at times from Gibson and what has now been a three-goaltender carousel.
Going 39:14 without allowing a shot on goal has been icing on the cake for the Red Wings, who have allowed just 256 shots all season, or 25.6 per game. That has given Detroit multiple opportunities to create chances in the offensive zone, where they are currently averaging 30.0 shots on goal this season. This has also reflected a stellar 54.5 Corsi For Percentage.
That said, the Red Wings have rarely been dominant offensively. Through 10 games, the Red Wings have scored 4+ goals in regulation just three times. That doesn’t include their 4-3 shootout win on Oct. 17 vs. the San Jose Sharks.
Now that the Red Wings have shown they can string together a dominant performance in all three zones for 60 minutes, their next challenge is to build on it.
Detroit Can Pull Off A Repeat Performance On Saturday
On Saturday night, the Red Wings will storm into Calgary and face off with the Flames. While Calgary has won two straight thanks to stellar performances from goaltender Devin Cooley, they have been cold offensively.
The Flames have scored just 19 goals in their first nine games, with five of them coming in their upset wins over the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild. In Thursday’s win, the Flames put up just 22 shots on goal, posted a 42.1 percent Corsi For at 5-on-5, and started just 23.8 percent of the time in the offensive zone.
They may be hot in terms of winning games lately, but they have been far from dominant. This gives the Detroit Red Wings a good chance to repeat the epic performance they treated fans to in Vancouver. They may not go nearly two periods without allowing a shot on goal on Saturday, but they could hold the Flames to under 20 shots.
That will build serious momentum heading into their first of many road trip finales; it will come on Oct. 26 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Red Wings Quietly Pulled Off A Remarkable Defensive Feat In Win