Wings' rough, wild victory in Dallas reminder of memorable era
Once upon a time, but not so long ago really, Detroit and Dallas were bitter rivals who dominated the wild, wild Western Conference -- and Stars captain Jamie Benn would have fit right in. So would the Wings' Niklas Kronwall and Justin Abdelkader.
At the same time the Detroit-Colorado rivalry was being celebrated as the best in all of sports in the mid-to-late 1990s, the Red Wings and Stars matchup was every bit as good and nearly as belligerent. Witness the Western Conference Finals game at Joe Louis Arena on May 31, 1998, when Stars goalie Ed Belfour nearly emasculated Martin Lapointe, bringing his stick up, hard, between Lapointe's legs.
Benn brought that similar surliness Saturday night, leading a team desperate for points with a "Gordie Howe hat trick" that helped Dallas to what appeared to be an insurmountable two goal lead late in the third period.
But Abdelkader matched the hostility ounce for ounce. He led the comeback by scoring a goal and then knocking goalie Kari Lehtonen on his keister in a goal-mouth scramble, allowing Pavel Datsyuk to score his second goal of the night and forge a 6-6 tie with 1:48 to play and his net empty. And Kronwall finished a rowdy and improbable Red Wings victory with the game-winner 36 seconds into overtime. He beat Lehtonen with a nifty backhander from the hash marks.
"It was not pretty, by any means," Kronwall said. "There were lots of turnovers, lots of mistakes. But we found a way to crawl. We just found a way. We were lucky to get two points tonight. We've just got to get better. We need to start playing some good hockey, that's for sure."
Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl, fresh off a two-game conditioning stint in Grand Rapids, scored two goals, doubling his output for the season. Datsyuk's two goals gave him 19. Gustav Nyquist scored his 21st and Abdelkader got his 13th, tucking a rebound of a Kronwall shot by the goaltender. With the win, the Wings improved to 14-2-2 against Western Conference opponents this season, and 2-0 after the second leg of their six-game Western road trip.
Goaltender Jonas Gustavsson got the win in relief of Jimmy Howard, who gave up six goals on 32 shots and was pulled midway through the third period. Gustavsson's win was his first since Oct. 18.
Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg didn't finish the game, either. He did not return for the third period because of what was described as an upper-body injury. He has been nagged by back problems in recent years but had played in all 57 games so far this season. Wings coach Mike Babcock offered no update after the game, saying Zetterberg would be evaluated by medics on Sunday.
Meantime, Stars coach Lindy Ruff was outraged when replays of Detroit's tying goal showed Abdelkader knocking down Lehtonen in his crease. Referees did not make call a penalty, and the play is not reviewable, so the goal stood.
"They bumped our goal a number of times, and it looked like Abbie bumped theirs," Babcock said. "Bottom line is we got seven and they got six. But we have to play way better."
This game was every minute remindful of some of the shootouts these teams played in the late 1990s at a time with the Wings, Stars and Avalanche dominated the Western Conference. Only this one was a lot uglier with a Dallas club that has allowed more goals than any team in its conference and Detroit forsaking the kind of team defense that has made it one of the stingiest teams in the NHL this season.
In an eight-year stretch from 1995-2002, these were two of the three best teams in the NHL, one of them representing the West in the Stanley Cup Finals -- Detroit four, and Dallas and Colorado twice each. Detroit won the Cup three times in that streak, Colorado twice and Dallas once.
While Kronwall, Abdelkader and Co. finished this one off, Benn -- one of the fine young power forwards in the game -- set the tone early. On his second shift of the game, Benn picked a fight with Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, then opened his team's scoring with his 23rd goal of the season.
Leading the kind of physical effort the young Wings have been susceptible to at times this season, Benn nearly took rookie winger Teemu Pulkkinen's head off a minute or so after he scored his goal. Early in the second period, Benn drew a roughing penalty for punching Zetterberg in the head. Benn also earned two assists.
This was a wide-open, bump-and-grind, wildly entertaining game reminiscent of another time. But much has changed since these teams once dominated the NHL. The Wings have moved to the Eastern Conference where geography suggests they belong, though they're on pace to advance to the playoffs for the 24th consecutive year. The Stars -- and the Avs -- have fallen on hard times. Both are unlikely to make the playoffs this year, though with a point Dallas inched a bit closer. The Stars began the night 11th in the West.
And with the victory, the Wings hold serve with Montreal and Tampa Bay, two divisional opponents who also won Saturday. Detroit now heads to Southern California, for back-to-back games against Anaheim and Los Angeles starting Monday.
