The 12,847 spectators at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, witnessed an offensive game between the Senators and the Detroit Red Wings on THURSDAY that ended with a 5-4 win for Ottawa in overtime.
Tim Stützle sounded the death knell for the game two seconds before the end of overtime. Like a baseball player, the German hit the puck in the air to send it into James Reimer’s net.
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The presence of Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson on the bench clearly inspired the Ottawa players early in the game. In fact, they quickly took a 4-0 lead and seemed to be heading for an easy win.
Brady Tkachuk particularly stood out because he flashed the red light twice instead of once on his first mission. For his second goal of the game, he took advantage of a great move from Stützle, who passed the puck to him kneeling on the ice before deceiving goalie Reimer’s guard.
Additionally, the Red Wings goaltender’s performance in the first period will not go down in history as he allowed three goals on nine shots. However, Derek Lalonde’s men recovered afterwards and dominated the game, especially in the second third.
Crowd favorite Lucas Raymond sparked his team’s revolt by reducing the score to 4-1 with a wrist shot. The Red Wings then equalized at the very end of that period thanks to two goals in 45 seconds thanks to Alex DeBrincat and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Quebecer David Perron was the other scorer for Detroit. In the case of the federal capital organization, Jake Sanderson and Josh Norris also threaded the thread.
A nice party
The vast majority of fans in the arena (which was not full) wore the Detroit club’s colors. Not only did they see their favorites unfold before their eyes, but they also had the opportunity to see Red Wings legend Nicklas Lidstrom drop the celebratory puck.
Apparently Raymond received a very nice ovation at the players’ presentation. Despite the disappointment of the defeat, he was still satisfied with his team’s performance.
“We weren’t that bad in the first half, even though it was 3-0,” he told reporters after the game. We had some good moments and we carried that into the second half.”
Senators head coach DJ Smith appreciated Alfredsson’s presence behind the bench next to him.
“I think it was a great experience for him to see what happens when you deal with changing situations in a game,” Smith said after the game. It got really quiet on the bench, but no one on the coaching staff panicked. […] He sees the game very well and the players can benefit from his experience.
The Red Wings will be back in action on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, still in Stockholm. Ottawa will cross swords with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.