The last time the Wings won seven straight was from March 20-April 1, 2010. During that streak Jimmy Howard was in goal for each win as he cemented his position as the Wings’ starting goalie for the playoffs.
Friday night, Jimmy Howard made 27 saves in the Wings’ 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, guiding them to their seventh straight victory.
Howard was aided by an outstanding first period offensively as Jakub Kindl scored his first goal of the season. Kindl’s tally was followed by Franzen’s team leading 11th goal while Valtteri Filpulla continued to roll as he put the Wings up 3-0 by the end of the first period.
“I think if we play like did last year on the road – we had one of the best records – then it’s nothing,” coach Mike Babcock said before the game. “If you get it in your head that you can’t play on the road then it becomes a problem for you.
“To me, we should have a real good road team. We’re not worried about match-ups very much. We’ve got good center ice position and they’re all pretty good defensively. Let’s play the games.”
The Sabres began to show signs of life in the second period which continued over into the third period.
Buffalo scored at 13:47 of the third period when Hecht converted a pass from Jason Pominville on a two-on-one ruining Jimmy Howard’s chance at a shutout. However the Wings’ were able to sustain the late Buffalo pressure as Pavel Datsyuk added a late empty net goal to seal the victory.
The Majors Detroit Player of the Game: Jimmy Howard
The NHL is going to have make some serious consideration at getting Jimmy Howard into the All-Star game as he was spectacular once again tonight. Even despite the lax play by the Wings in the second and third periods, Howard was able to keep the Wings ahead comfortably.
The Majors Detroit Zero of the Game: The Wings’ offense in the second and third period
Now there isn’t a lot to complain about when your team wins 4-1. However there really isn’t such a thing as a perfect game and tonight was no exception. After scoring three goals in the first period, the Wings’ offense went to sleep and let Buffalo get some good pressure on Jimmy Howard.
Looking Ahead: Sunday the Wings look to make it eight straight when they head out to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche from the Pepsi Center. Currently the Avalanche are 12-13-1 and 4th in the Northeast Division.
The Bottom Line: Aside from the seven game winning streak the Wings have won four in a row on the road to improve to 6-5-o away from Joe Louis Arena. Detroit is also entering a tough stretch of games as they 10 of 15 games on the road in December.
Ref: Mive.com, Yahoo! Sports, USA Today (image)