Detroit Red Wings Drop Another Road Game After Running into Hot Anderson, Avs

After Thursday’s loss in Phoenix, I complained Detroit wasn’t shooting enough.

The Red Wings shot plenty on Saturday night in Colorado, but instead were met by a brick wall of a goalie.

Avs netminder Craig Anderson stopped 48 of 49 shots fired his way to completely stymie the Red Wings.

One goal—a Kris Draper backhanded shot after he did his best Tomas Holmstrom impression—wasn’t enough for Detroit, and Colorado blasted two of its 23 shots past Jimmy Howard for a 3-1 victory.

At one point in the first period, Holmstrom had a wide-open chance on the power play.

He calmly stuffed the puck into Anderson’s pads.

One period later, while shorthanded, Dan Cleary had a similar amount of time to just walk into Anderson’s face with the puck, and the Avs goalie calmly stuck out his stick to poke the puck away. Some nights, you’re just facing a hot goalie.

Later in the period, Pavel Datsyuk had a free skate into Anderson, but the goalie came out on top.

Plenty of chances for Detroit, not enough success.

To quickly harp on the point of the last two games, yes, Detroit did blow another lead against Colorado. This one, however, was a one-goal lead with still 20 minutes to play.

The lead wasn’t one goal with three minutes left or two goals with 20 minutes left. A one-goal lead in the second period is a tenuous lead at best.

It’s still bad to have a lead and lose it, but the problem Saturday was Detroit failing to add a second goal, not their inability to keep a lead.

Five more observations:

1. Homecoming not coming soon. With this loss, Detroit is still winless away from the Motor City this season. They have been outscored 21-11 in those games.

2. It’s been a while, Kyle. Former Red Wings draft pick (132nd overall in 2003) Kyle Quincey got leveled by Darren Helm early in the first period. Quincey spent the first six years of his career in the Wings’ system but only managed one goal in 13 regular-season games in all that time.

3. Turnovers are deadly. The Avs’ first goal, from T.J. Galiardi, was set up by one of those terrible clearing attempts that wound up right in the attacking team’s hands. And the shot Galiardi sunk was the exact shot Anderson was saving all night.

4. Foote soldier. Adam Foote is still on the Avs’ roster as the only player from their 1995-96 Stanley Cup Championship team. I remember hating him all the way back then. From the 2000-01 Cup team, the Avs still have Foote and Milan Hejduk.

5. Bertuzzi denied. The hockey gods were not smiling on Todd Bertuzzi on Saturday. The left winger had an apparent goal in the second period waved off by the referee because he couldn’t see the puck under Anderson and in the net. In the third period, Bertuzzi clanged one off the post that would have given Detroit a 2-1 lead. Ironically, Chris Stewart’s game-winner less than five minutes later went in off the post.

Player of the game: Anderson. The Avs’ goalie was phenomenal Saturday night, stopping 48 shots. That’s a huge number usually reserved for a Florida Panthers goalie.

Best of the Wings: Draper. The lone goal-scorer on a bad night for Detroit.

Worst of the Wings: Valtteri  Filppula. The poor guy. He was on the ice for all three Colorado goals and finished the game at -3, the only Detroit player with that honor.

Word of the night: Stonewall. Anderson’s performance was off the charts and reminded me of the old Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey graphic where the goalie would literally turn into a brick wall when stopping shots.

Up next: At Vancouver, Tuesday, 10 p.m.