Detroit Red Wings overcome third period deficit to defeat the Calgary Flames
On Sunday 21 November the Detroit Red Wings overcame a 4-2 third period deficit to defeat the Calgary Flames by a score of 5-4 in overtime. With the win, the Red Wings solidified their
hold on first place in the NHL’s Central Division while the Flames remained in fourth place in the Northwestern Division.
Sunday’s meeting inside Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena was the third time the team’s had met this season. The Red Wings were victorious in the first two games, defeating the Flames by scores
of 4-2 and 2-1.
The struggling Flames, who were 3-7 in their 10 games prior to this match, took an interference penalty inside the first minute of the game and Detroit wasted no time capitalizing on the
mistake. Detroit defenceman Brian Rafalski faked a slap shot and threw a pass to a wide-open Johan Franzen. Franzen accepted the pass and put a snap shot past the Flames goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff, for the 1-0 Detroit lead.
The Flames were able to tie the score later in the first period when Flames captain Jarome Iginla fed a nice spinning pass to a breaking Niklas Hagman who put a backhand shot behind Detroit
goal keeper Jimmy Howard.
The teams headed into the second period tied at one, but that score did not last long as Iginla took a pass from behind the net and fired a wrist shot past Howard to give the Flames the
2-1 lead. The goal gave Iginla four in his last two games, matching his output in the previous 17 Flames contests.
The suddenly hot Iginla then made the score 3-1 on the power play. Iginla was uncovered at the side of the Detroit net when Matt Stajan found him and fired a hard pass his way. Iginla
gathered the puck and fired it into the Detroit net.
The Flames had a two-goal lead heading into the third period, but Pavel Datsyuk was able to get the Wings within one when he redirected a Nicklas Lidstrom slap shot past Kiprusoff. The
power play goal gave Datsyuk seven goals on the season.
Alex Tanguay gave Calgary their two goal lead back when Rafalski struggled with a pass in his own zone. Tanguay was able to sweep in easily and tally an unassisted goal to give the Flames
a 4-2 lead.
Henrick Zetterberg was able to bring the Wings back within one with a nice individual effort at the 11:04 mark of the final period. Zetterberg took a pass from Datsyuk outside the Calgary
zone and skated in uncontested before putting a backhand shot into the Calgary goal.
Time was winding down when the Red Wings found themselves on the power play due to an interference call on the Flames’ Jay Bouwmeester. Already up a man, Detroit head coach Mike Babcock
pulled his goaltender to give the Wings a six-on-four advantage. With only four seconds remaining in the game his strategy was rewarded, as Zetterberg was able to tie the game with his second goal of the night.
With the game tied at the end of regulation the teams headed to a four-on-four overtime period. The overtime would only last 1:38, as Lidstrom, Detroit’s captain, was able to slip the
puck past a flopping Kiprusoff and secure the 5-4 lead for the home team.
After the game, both team’s head coaches seemed disappointed with the way their teams had played. “We got a point but we certainly should have had two tonight,” said Flames coach Brent
Sutter.
Babcock offered, “"We had lots of players that did some good things. We were fortunate. You can't play many nights like this and win."
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