Wings record third-straight win against division rival Ottawa

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT –  The Red Wings spoiled Dion Phaneuf’s Ottawa Senators debut with their third victory in a row on the current homestand and second of three this week against Atlantic Division teams.

Danny DeKeyser, Darren Helm and captain Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit, while Petr Mrazek made 22 of 23 saves for his 21st win of the season en route to a 3-1 victory at Joe Louis Arena Wednesday night. Zack Smith scored Ottawa’s lone marker, and Craig Anderson turned away 26 of 28.

The Red Wings’ gave the Sens seven power-play opportunities, and it wasn’t until the last one of the game that Ottawa struck to prevent Mrazek from recording his second-straight shutout.

“I really liked our game, I thought we did lots of good stuff,” Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill said. “Obviously we took too many penatlties there, especially in the third, but I think we did lots of really, really good things, and some nights are like that, and I thought our penalty kill, the confidence continued to grow. It’s unfortunate they scored there late, because it hurts your numbers a little bit, but in the end, the penalty kill won the game, but I thought we played a real good hockey game.”

Mrazek now sports a 21-10-4 record with a 1.94 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and four shutouts on the season. On this three-game winning streak, Mrazek has allowed just two goals. Andreas Athanasiou played against Mrazek in the Ontario Hockey League and then with him in Grand Rapids before the current stint in Detroit.

“It’s so hard to beat him, he’s a wall back there, so it’s an unbelievable thing to have,” Athanasiou said. “It’s like having a third defenseman there, too, as well with his ability to play the puck. He’s an elite goalie.”

DeKeyser opened the scoring at 3:03 of the opening period, sliding into the slot, taking a backhand pass from Gustav Nyquist and shooting it off a skate and past Anderson for the early 1-0 lead. Athanasiou drew the secondary helper to give him two assists in three games since being recalled from Grand Rapids.

Though both teams traded chances in the middle frame, it wasn’t until 2:01 of the third period that the next marker came. And it was the ever-elusive second goal that Detroit had trouble finding early in the season.

Zetterberg walked down the left side, made a nice move around Phaneuf to gain inside positioning and roofed a puck over Anderson to give Detroit a crucial insurance goal.

“Early in the season, we didn’t find that second goal,” Blashill said. “So even though it wasn’t a five-goal game or whatnot, it’s not the reality of the league every night. We did find a way to get that second goal and that’s a big, big thing, so I think that’s got to help with the confidence, as well, and hopefully we can taunt on Friday.”

In the final period, DeKeyser took a Phaneuf point blast right off the knee. It sent him to the ice, and he had to be helped off. While DeKeyser did return for a shift, he couldn’t finish the game. Blashill said after the game it was a bad bruise and that he’s day-to-day.

Helm added an empty-netter late to seal the Red Wings’ victory.

“Hockey is a huge confidence sport, for sure,” Helm said. “I thought we were playing decent, but losing a lot of games at home. Now I think we’re playing pretty good, just starting to get a little bit of confidence, playing well enough and doing the right things. You get that confidence, you find ways to win instead of finding ways to lose.”

The Red Wings continue their homestand looking for a fourth-consecutive win Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche in a Stadium Series tune-up.