Zetterberg Nets OT Winner Over The Canucks, Red Wings Lose Datsyuk

Added on Dec 23, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

20,000 plus fans packed the Joe Louis Arena last night to see the Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 in overtime. It was Henrik Zetterberg, who also tied the game at 3 in the 3^rd period, that would skate off the ice with the game winner at 2:59 into the OT frame. The win put the Red Wings back in front of the Western Division, but it came at a heavy cost.

Pavel Datsyuk left the game in the first period when he tripped over former teammate Mikael Samuelsson in front of the Vancouver net. It appeared that Datsyuk landed on his wrist awkwardly, and he didn’t return after the first intermission. After the game the Red Wings reported that he had broken his right hand, and he would be missing at least 4 weeks. His hand was placed in a cast before the end of the game, and the Wings have already said that Pavel will not need surgery on the hand. This is a huge loss for the wings, as Datsyuk already has 12 goals and 39 points in 33 games.

Wings Coach Mike Babcock was disheartened by the news, but he thinks his squad is full of the type of people who will find a way to win hockey games. He said “It’s unfortunate, there’s nothing we can do about it. We got to find a way to dig in, just like we did tonight to get the game done. More opportunity for someone else. We know Pav’s a good player and we know he’s coming back. He gets a little bit of vacation so he’s ready for the playoffs.”

The Dallas Stars were able to overtake the first place position in the Western Conference because of a 4-4-2 skid the Red Wings recently went on. Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who stopped 35 shots, said the team really understands how important points are at this point in the season. He said of the win, “It was huge. You look at the standings, everything has gotten pretty condensed here so every point matters right now.” He also felt that Zetterberg took over in the third period, and made his job easier, “He seemed to throw us on his back and just took over in the third period. That’s what you need your top players to do.”"It was nice to do that, change-up go in,”

It was Nicklas Lidstrom who had tied the game at 4 with 3:54 remaining in regulation when he fired home a rebound, but it was Zetterberg who put away the Canucks. He didn’t say much after the game, but he said of his OT winner “It was nice to do that, change-up go in. It wasn’t the hardest shot, but it found a way home.”

Henrik and Daniel Sedin each had a goal and an assist and Samuelsson and Jeff Tambellini also scored for Vancouver, third in the Western Conference just three points behind Detroit. TambelinniTambelinni said they really thought they were doing enough to battle the pressure of Detroit, and keep up with the Wings. In the end, they just proved to be to tough to put away. He said “That’s a tough team. I think we battled back, but fell short.”

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault agreed, he thought Vancouver had a chance to win the game, but Detroit made plays when they needed too. He said after the game, “We’re up 3-2, got a top scorer with a great chance to make it 4-2 and the goaltender makes the save.”

The Vancouver Canucks (19-8-5,43pts), who are 1st in the Northwest Division, will face the Columbus Blue Jackets (17-13-3, 37pts) on Thursday night in St. Louis. The Detroit Red Wings (21-8-4, 46pts) will face the St. Louis Blues (16-12-5, 37pts) in St. Louis on the same night.