Photo by Andie Wojciak/MiHockey

Red Wings shut out Habs in Martin Luther King Day matinee

Photo by Andie Wojciak/MiHockey
Thomas Vanek scored the lone goal in the Red Wings’ 1-0 win over Montreal Monday afternoon in Detroit. (Photo by Andie Wojciak/MiHockey)

 

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT – It wasn’t a six-goal outburst like it was on Saturday.

In fact, the Wings scored just once, and it wasn’t pretty, but it was enough to get the job done Monday afternoon.

Thomas Vanek saw a Danny DeKeyser point shot deflect off his leg and past Carey Price for the game’s only goal. Detroit topped the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens in a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Joe Louis Arena, a 1-0 final.

“It shows us what we talk about and what we preach; when we play the right way and get to the net and get out of our zone quicker, we can beat anyone,” Vanek said. “I think a win like that helped against Pittsburgh because I don’t think we were too intimidated by those guys, and that’s a great team over there. We frustrated them, we stuck with the game plan and a great 1-0 win.”

Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill said his team was sharp defensively and needs to continue to be, but that the shooting mentality continues to improve.

“I think our mentality has been much better about shooting the puck and getting to the net,” Blashill said. “I think even tonight it was much better. The one thing we did tonight was miss the net too much. I thought we ad lots of oppotuntieis and we missed the net too much. But other than that, our mentality shooting it and our mentality of going to the net has been much, much better here over the last two weeks and I think it makes a much better team.”

(Photo by Andie Wojciak/MiHockey)
Photo by Andie Wojciak/MiHockey

Northern Michigan alum Jared Coreau earned his second consecutive win with and second shutout on the season with an 18-save outing to improve to 2-0 at Joe Louis Arena and 5-1-0-1 on the season. Coreau and Vanek respectively earned the game’s first and second stars.

“Try not to get too high, but you’ve got to enjoy it a little bit,” Coreau said. “When you get a shutout, it’s definitely a team effort. It sounds cliche, but a couple big blocks in there, we got a post that went our way. We held them to only 18 shots so defensively and overall, we just played a really good game.

With the win, the Wings (19-19-6) pulled to within four points of the idle Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division.

It took nearly 40 minutes to find a goal, but the Red Wings made sure it was they who struck first.

With 1:46 to play in the second period, Danny DeKeyser’s slap shot from the point deflected off Thomas Vanek’s leg and in. It marked Vanek’s team-leading 12th goal and 30th point of the season in his 33rd game.

“He’s been a really good fit for us,” Blashill said. “He’s got an unbelievable offensive mind, he comes up with faceoff plays and things like that that I wouldn’t be able to think of. I mean he’s got a really, really high I.Q. offensively. And then he’s got a pretty unique skill set for us. He’s a real big body with real good skill…. The biggest thing with Thomas for me is he’s a winner and a great person. And you want as many winners and great people around here as you can.”

The Canadiens pressed late in the game to find the equalizer, but Coreau and the Wings held firm to earn a second-consecutive win to improve to 2-0 on the current homestand.

Habs captain and former Michigan Wolverines standout Max Pacioretty, who made a handful visits to Joe Louis Arena in college, said he liked his team’s compete level. Montreal loaded up its top line with Alex Galchenyuk, Alexander Radulov and Pacioretty.

“I liked the way we competed until the end,” Pacioretty said. “I thought our line had a ton of offensive zone time, looking for a bounce, but couldn’t seem to get it.”

The Wings host Livonia native Torey Krug and the Boston Bruins Wednesday night, and the Wings know they still have improvements to make.

“I think against Pittsburgh we just stuck with it and got rewarded with a few goals,” Vanek said. “You get one win at home, I thought the crowd was good and I thought tonight was a sloppy first period, but we stuck with it. A big difference is our power play didn’t score, but it was pretty good, creating chances, and that usually helps.”