Red Wings held scoreless against Blues, lose 1-0 Sunday afternoon
By Alyssa Girardi –
DETROIT – Sunday started on a high note at Joe Louis Arena with the announcement of the NHL Winter Classic between the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The good vibes quickly went downhill, however, as the Red Wings were shut out by St. Louis, 1-0.
Detroit is now 2-4-0 in the last six games, and Sunday marked the first time the Red Wings were shut out at home since Feb. 4, 2011.
Blues forward Chris Porter netted the only tally of the game, and Jimmy Howard stopped 24.
With the road victory, the Blues jumped to 6th place in the West, and the Red Wings fell to 8th.
“It’s a no-brainer — we know what’s going on, we see the board every single day,” Howard said. “It’s imperative that we get points and that means digging a little bit deeper.”
The Blues got on the board at 3:32 of the second period. Porter was tied up in the crease by Dan DeKeyser — who made his first Joe Louis appearance as a Red Wing — but Porter managed to poke at a loose puck and jab it through Howard’s five-hole.
“The message in their goal was simple,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “We had the puck, we went to shoot it in, it hit their guy in the leg when we were changing, and it ends up just a scrum in front of our net. That’s playoff hockey — that’s what it’s all about. But to tell you the truth, I enjoyed coaching today. I enjoyed watching our players compete.”
Henrik Zetterberg said the Blues played tight five-on-five, especially in front of their net, and kept the game inside. The Red Wings weren’t able to break St. Louis’ style of play, but Zetterberg said the Blues were what he expected.
The Red Wings’ best chance of the period came as Gustav Nyquist looked to extend his point-streak to four games. He snuck in behind the St. Louis defensemen, received a pass at the opposition’s blue line and took off on a breakaway, but his shot was deflected up and over the net.
At the four minute mark of the third period, Nyquist and Pavel Datsyuk had a flurry of opportunities in front of Blues goaltender Brian Elliott. The puck popped out for a Niklas Kronwall wrister at the point, but the Red Wings weren’t able to put up a tally.
“I think we created enough chances to win the game, but when we got a chance, we couldn’t really put it away,” Zetterberg said. “It’s something that happened before and we really gotta bear down when we get a chance.”
DeKeyser (Grosse Pointe), the former Western Michigan player and two-time CCHA best defensive defenseman, left a positive impression on his head coach after his second-ever NHL game. After getting more than 15 minutes of ice time and 1:41 of shorthanded playing time, Babcock said he likes watching Dekeyser play.
“He made a few errant passes, but I think they’re more out of nerves than anything else,” he said. “He can spin it and go to the back end and pass it up the middle. I know … good players like De who can go get the puck and get it going versus play d-zone coverage.”
Additionally, Riley Sheahan was called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins for his first Red Wings game of the season, but Babcock said he will be sent back down to the AHL. Sheahan played 6:47 in the contest, and recorded one shot on goal.
“I thought he was okay,” Babcock said. “But he’s going to get a trip to the minors tomorrow. He’s going to be a player for us, but he’s gotta get quicker and play with more pace.”