Factors In Red Wings Game 3 Win: Energized Crowd, Penalty Kill, Return Of Abdelkader
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
DETROIT - Head coach Mike Babcock wanted more from the Detroit Red Wings, and they delivered Tuesday with a 3-0 win in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the win, Detroit took the lead in the series, two games to one.
"We were way better," Babcock said after the game. "I thought we skated and looked like a real hockey team. I didn't think we had skated the way we're capable of skating, and I didn't think we had the physical play, I didn't think we made their D turn the puck over like we should have in the first couple of games, and I thought those things all happened tonight.
"We had deeper lines today, up front for sure, so that helped us," Babcock continued. "Being at home and having last change and getting the matchup didn't hurt us, either, and then when you do good things your crowd can really support you. At sporting events, if you don't do anything good, your crowd doesn't support you at all; they just sit there and watch because they can't figure out what you're doing, so you've got to do your part in order to get the crowd to help you, and I thought we did."
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead in the first period when a shot by Tomas Tatar deflected off Pavel Datsyuk and found the net. Detroit increased its lead to 2-0 in the third period, when Riley Sheahan scored on a pass from Justin Abdelkader, who was playing in his first game since suffering a hand injury on April 4.
Later in the third, an empty-net goal by Luke Glendening made the score 3-0.
Babcock said the returns of Abdelkader and Brendan Smith played a major role in the team's success Tuesday.
"I think getting [Abdelkader] and Smitty in the lineup today helped us," Babcock said. "Both physical guys, both determined guys, both competitive guys, and Abby gave us – it's not just one player. It gives you suddenly three lines that are real comfortable playing and gave us better matchups and better offensive zone play, so in the end [that] led to the win."
Echoing Babcock, Drew Miller said the Lightning played the first two games with more physicality than Detroit, and the Red Wings wanted to turn that around. Abdelkader contributed to the achievement of that goal, most notably when he hunted down Cedric Paquette and confronted him against the glass after Paquette tripped Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek.
The home crowd, of course, loved Abdelkader's defense of his teammate, and proud chants of "Abby! Abby! Abby! Abby!" filled the arena.
"He played the same Abby that we see every night, playing physical, battling in front of the net," Miller said. "I was a little worried when he went after that guy there, but luckily it was just kind of a wrestling match, so everything was all right.
"When it's playoffs, you kind of rise to the occasion and find that little extra, but I think he definitely exceeded our expectations," Miller added.
Mrazek, a major storyline in the last few weeks of the season as he and veteran Jimmy Howard battled for the starting job, played well also, making 22 saves. In Game 2 of the series, Mrazek gave up four goals in two periods before Babcock pulled him. If the struggles in that game weighed on the goaltender's mind, he did not show it Tuesday.
"I just think it shows his character and his attitude," Sheahan said. "He's always upbeat, he doesn't get down, and that shows a lot. If you … [can] not get down and come back with confidence, it's huge. We know he's got that capability of saving us a win, and he did an awesome job for us tonight."
The rest of the team played much better in front of Mrazek than it did in the second game of the series. The Lightning had six power plays, and the Red Wings were perfect on the penalty kill.
"Their power play is really deadly, and our PKers did a great job, I think, of just getting in lanes and clearing pucks when we could there," Abdelkader said. "The 5-on-3 was obviously really huge for us. I think it got the momentum back in our favor there. Petr made some good saves when he had to, but your specialty teams this time of year are huge, and power play got us a goal there, and penalty kill did a tremendous job of getting the kills."
Sheahan praised the kill as well, attributing its success to fearlessness.
"I think just the desperation in those guys and the way they get in front of shots," Sheahan said. "Some of those guys have ridiculously hard shots, but they're not scared to get in the lane, and I think we did a good job on our clears, getting the puck down the ice."
Game 4 of the series takes place Thursday, and that game will also be at Joe Louis Arena, which rocked Tuesday night with raucous fans cheering themselves hoarse and wildly waving towels.
"I think the crowd energized our team tonight," Abdelkader said. "Definitely energized me. We look forward to Thursday."
