The Red Wings tallied four goals against the Senators Monday night for their ninth win of the season. It was the first time Detroit scored more than two goals in a game since October 31, also against Ottawa (5-3 W).
The youth got it done for Detroit with goals coming from Dylan Larkin (5), Gustav Nyquist (7), Riley Sheahan (3) and Tomas Tatar (5).
It was Henrik Zetterberg’s fifth straight game without a point. Larkin’s goal was his second of the season against Ottawa, in near-identical fashion only instead of the wrap-around this time he caught Craig Anderson cheating the angle and squeezed a wrist-shot from below the goal-line off Anderson and into the net.
Datsyuk Finding his Feet
Monday’s victory was Datsyuk’s third game of the season since returning from ankle surgery. Although he has yet to tally a point, Datsyuk has increased his presence in each game and was largely responsible for Larkin starting the scoring in the first period.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/666419523327827968
While it’s not shown in the GIF, Datsyuk’s pressure on Ottawa created the turnover that lead to Larkin’s fifth goal of the season.
Datsyuk appeared closer to his regular self than his previous two games. He was back to causing turnovers, creating pressure and keeping the puck on his stick.
It’s only a matter of time until Datsyuk finds his first point and, once he does, he’ll return to being a regular on the score sheet, something the Wings have lacked this season.
Green Playing His Game
Through his first seven games with Detroit, Mike Green had only contributed two assists. After missing six games with a shoulder injury, Green has averaged roughly 24 minutes a night and contributed four assists in his last five games; two versus Ottawa, his first multi-point effort this season.
Green wasn’t brought in for his defensive game, which is part of the reason why he is a minus-6 over those last five games and a minus-7 on the season. The other part is that it’s hard to keep up your plus/minus when your team tallies a max of two goals a game.
Nyquist's team-leading seventh goal capped nice passing play from Green to Abdelkader to Nyquist.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 17, 2015
“It’s good to kind of get back to feeling like you can jump up in the play,” Green said after Monday night’s win in Ottawa. “I feel like we’re really coming along here.”
After ten seasons in Washington, Green seems more comfortable with his new team and finds his offense blossoming into his true capabilities. His confidence is rising and he should find his first goal soon enough.
Kindl Showing Promise
Even without a point in the contest, Blashill really liked what he saw out of Kindl, who put a career-high six shots on net.
“It might have been his best game of the season in a lot of ways,” Blashill said. “He was strong defensively, strong on the puck, broke the puck out great; seemed to be real aggressive offensively, in a good way, not taking too many chances but creating opportunities.”
Kindl has worked his way into 16 games for Detroit this season, averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time a night. It’s a big step for Kindl who spent most of last season in former coach Mike Babcock’s doghouse, playing just 35 games all season.
Kindl is similar to Green, an ability to move the puck but not without defensive lapses. With five points (2 G, 3 A) this season, Kindl is on pace for a career-high 10 goals and 25 points.
His confidence has grown and he hasn’t shown a lack of jumping into the play—just watch his overtime winner against Toronto, where he showed Babcock why he deserves a regular spot in the line-up.
Honorable Mention
Andreas Athanasiou had a season-low 8:49 of ice time but still managed to be an effective third-liner. He used his incredible speed to put up two shots on goal Monday night and 10 through his first five NHL contests.
His lone goal on the season was the game-winner against Washington last week, a 1-0 game that saw Petr Mrazek earn his sixth NHL shutout.
Statistics compiled from TSN, ESPN and Hockey-Reference.