At 18:03 of the second period, Datsyuk took his second penalty of the game. This time, it was a weak holding-the-stick call. On the ensuing power play, Bouchard had a glorious chance in the slot, but he took too long to get the puck off and it was deflected high and wide.
The Wings looked strong in the third period, but they were competing with a tight-checking Minnesota squad. In an effort to get back in the game, Mike Babcock switched up the lines somewhat.
Henrik Zetterberg centered Mikael Samuelsson and Dan Cleary on at least one shift, and Johan Franzen skated between Jiri Hudler and Tomas Kopecky. Franzen also saw time with Kris Draper and Samuelsson.
The team came close to tying it up a number of times throughout the period as they put up 16 shots to the Wild's three. Niklas Backstrom's quick glove and Minnesota's ability to get to loose pucks before the Wings made a comeback difficult. The Wild were well on their way to pulling off a win when Cleary's bad angle shot suddenly changed the game.
Although he was kept off the scoreboard, Pavel Datsyuk had a strong night.
Dominik Hasek continues to allay fears about his ability to win games as he made a number of key saves throughout the game, keeping the Wings in it when the Wild had control of the ice. He had a couple huge stops on Marian Gaborik, including one on a breakaway in the second period. Somehow that one did not make it into the NHL's highlight reel, but this one came just seconds later.
It was not a perfect game by the Wings. They were beaten to loose pucks more often than not and were too easily defeated by the Wild's poke-check defense. The power play struggled once again and the penalty kill on the Rolston goal was less than stellar. Although the stats (such as the shot totals) would indicate they deserved to win the game, it's probably fairer to say that they stole this one from the Wild.
Despite the fact that it was not their best game, the encouraging thing is that they are still finding ways to win.
Next up, the Wings face the Kings at home Thursday. LA activated Mike Cammalleri from the IR yesterday, so they should be more dangerous than they were on January 22nd. During the broadcast last night, they said that Thursday is 80's Night at the Joe. If you're going, you know what to do.
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