Detroit Red Wings stay hot at home with 2-1 shootout win over Anaheim Ducks -NHL Update
Detroit showed that they dominate the series when it comes to playing at home as the Red Wings routed the Anaheim Ducks, 2-1, in an intense shootout on Friday night, February 10, 2012, at the sold-out Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
Ever since the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that the 2013 Winter Classic would be taking place at The Big House in Michigan, it has been a source of confidence for Detroit, resulting in them grabbing their second straight victory and 19th consecutive at home.
Playing at home and being atop of the league in terms of points with 76, certainly gives Detroit Red Wings an edge over other teams, especially when they will face-off against oppositions in the playoffs with home-ice advantage.
George Parros kicked off the scoring with his first of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season at the 16:17 mark of the opening period, while Justin Abdelkader added the equaliser nearly two minutes later. Detroit also managed to kill off three straight penalties.
Both teams failed to score in the next 40 minutes, resulting in them heading into an overtime extension and eventually into a shootout decider.
Anaheim gave two penalties in the second period but Detroit failed to take advantage of the situation, yet they managed to keep the Ducks out of the defensive end.
Detroit Red Wings scored their first of the shootout as Pavel Datsyuk scored on Jonas Hiller with a wrist shot at 10 feet, while Anaheim came right back by levelling it as Teemu Selanne fired a backhander on 12 feet.
Both team missed on their next two while Red Wings’ Todd Bertuzzi made the backhanded decider on their third chance as Anaheim missed the next two.
Anaheim still stands stranded at number 13 in the Western Conference with 51 points, below Colorado Avalanche, making their chances of a playoff contention bleaker with each passing day.
Ducks have the next in Columbus against the Blue Jackets on Sunday, while Detroit Red Wings are looking to continue playing perfect at home as they host Philadelphia Flyers on the same day.
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