By the Numbers: Red Wings 2, Sharks 1 (SO)

What a game. Hard not to be pleased with the effort from the Wings tonight, especially against a top team in the Western Conference. The Wings looked strong throughout most of the game, especially on the backcheck, and the bottom two lines again provided the energy spark that the team carried most of the game. The defense looked more than competent, minus Ericsson’s slip and fall that helped San Jose score. Chris Osgood continued to shine, and looks like the Ozzie that Wings fans are used to seeing come playoff time.

Despite the energy, the Wings did get down late in the second period and it looked like the Sharks were literally circling for the kill. But the Wings kept plugging away in the third, and when Zetterberg tied the game up, the Wings ramped the energy back up and carried the play all the way through overtime and into the shootout.

And how nice was it to finally get a shootout win? Even sweeter was that it came on the stick of Zetterberg, who has been openly criticized for not being crafty enough in shootout situations this season. Tell that to Evgeni Nabakov, who Hank made look absolutely silly on the game winner.

All in all, a very nice win for the Wings, who are now riding a three game winning streak and are looking like a team that has finally turned the corner and is ready to get back to the business of playing quality hockey.

Obviously, much more to come in the CSSI, but for now, here’s the line production numbers from tonight.

**The season totals are updated here and here.

Line Production

Special Teams Production

*No special teams scoring

Tags: San Jose Sharks