| Detroit Free Press
Detroit Red Wings’ Tyler Bertuzzi breaks down overtime goal
Tyler Bertuzzi interview, Jan. 19, 2021.
Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Red Wings converted on a power play and got another goal from Bobby Ryan in their rematch with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Tuesday’s affair at Little Caesars Arena started slowly but the Wings banked two goals in the second period, again showing a good response after giving up a goal.
Tyler Bertuzzi deflected Dylan Larkin’s shot 15 seconds into overtime to lift the Wings to a 3-2 victory and split the series, and start the season 2-2.
Anthony Mantha scored the team’s first goal during a man advantage, tying the game at one. Ryan found the back of the net for the fourth time in three games, pouncing on a loose puck and whipping it into the net to extend his scoring streak. He’s the first player in franchise history to score four goals his first three appearances.
The Blue Jackets tied it up early in the third period when Liam Foudy deflected Alexandre Texier’s shot. The Wings challenged that Foudy interfered with Jonathan Bernier but officials ruled the goal good, and that resulted in the Wings having to kill off a delay of game penalty.
New looks
Lines were tweaked in an effort to generate goals from players other than Larkin and Ryan, who entered the game with two goals and three goals, respectively, and with Robby Fabbri unavailable because of COVID protocol. Larkin centered Vladislav Namestnikov and Filip Zadina. Mantha was put on a line with Ryan and Michael Rasmussen, and Bertuzzi started the game with Luke Glendening and Mathias Brome. Valtteri Filppula was with Sam Gagner and Frans Nielsen.
The defense pairs remained the same, which meant Danny DeKeyser played in back-to-back games. That’s a good sign considering he has undergone back surgery and missed more than a year of hockey.
Slow start
Unlike Monday when the Wings had a great start, there wasn’t much going from either team in the first period Tuesday. The Blue Jackets had the edge in controlling the puck, but mostly, there was a lot of skating up and down the ice. The only Wings forwards to register shots on net were Larkin and Namestnikov. Defenseman Patrik Nemeth led his team with three shots on Elvis Merzlikins. Boone Jenner scored 1:38 into the second period.
Power play responds
The Wings had gone 0-for-6 through three games with man advantages, showing little cohesiveness from either unit until second power play in Monday’s game. When Pierre-Luc Dubois was called for hooking, Larkin’s unit with Mantha, Bertuzzi, Ryan and Filip Hronek got set up and were rewarded when Mantha got to a puck that had squirted out after hitting a player in front of the net. Mantha had an open net, and his first goal of the season.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.