By Bob Duff- Detroit Hockey Now
The Detroit Red Wings penalty kill a plus-one on the night. Now there’s something you don’t see every day.
Speaking of unusual, anyone have the Detroit PK unit saving the day on their bingo card?
Yeah, probably not.
Still, on a night when the Red Wings absolutely had to win, the club’s much-maligned penalty killers were positively outstanding.
During Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, the Red Wings came through with a shortanded goal. Andrew Copp would net it on a breakaway early in the second period.
“Teams are probably coming in and saying we got to take advantage of their penalty kill because our number is not good,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “They had a chance to strike and maybe swing the momentum back. And Copper and that group did a real good job and it just sets them back.”
Not only that, they successfully killed off all three Montreal power plays on the night. Including one that was self-inflicted.
Midway through the third period, Detroit thought Michael Rasmussen had made it 4-2. However, the tally was waved off for goaltender interference.
McLellan was opting to challenge the call. He lost and the Red Wings would be penalized for delay of game.
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Red Wings Challenge Is Denied
“I still think it’s a goal, or I wouldn’t have called it,” McLellan said. “I thought that Ras had every right to go in after a loose puck. Then I thought he made every effort to avoid and I thought that (Montreal defenseman David) Savard had his stick on his hips. And when you’re standing up, stiff and straight, trying to avoid something and you get pushed, you don’t have any balance.
“So that’s what we thought, but obviously we were wrong.”
In doing so, not only was McLellan rolling the dice. He was aware that Plan B would require the NHL’s 31st-ranked penalty kill (68.9%) to close the door on the Montreal power play.
“When we challenged, it was okay,” McLellan said. “We know it’s going one way or the other. And if it goes against us, get ready because we can do it. And they did a real good job.”
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This would be their finest hour . . . well, their finest two minutes. Montreal really never even came close to getting a legit scoring chance during the man advantage.
Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider felt that McLellan’s faith in them as a PK unit was all the adrenaline rush they needed to get the job done.
“They trusted us with the kill,” Seider said. “And it’s obviously a great feeling, getting that feeling from your coach.”
Related Topics:Andrew CoppDetroit Hockey NowDetroit Red WingsfeaturedMoritz SeiderTodd McLellan
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