James Reimer jokes about the length between Detroit Red Wings starts after picking up his 30th career shutout.
As necessary, the Detroit Red Wings rebounded from a brief two-game losing streak and secured a crucial two points in the standings with their impressive victory over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Alberta, the second oldest venue in the NHL today. Making his first start since January 14, James Reimer earned his second shutout of the season and 30th overall.
Detroit picked up their 1st win of the road trip
Detroit flipped the script from Thursday night’s struggles on the power play, scoring just seconds into their first opportunity thanks to a wicked slap shot from future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane. Detroit then followed that up with a goal from J.T. Compher, increasing the lead.
The offensive onslaught continued in the second period, as Dylan Larkin (power play) and David Perron scored, leading to the Flames replacing starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom with Dan Vladar.
Lucas Raymond capped the scoring late in the 3rd period, while goaltender James Reimer stood on his head with 38 saves in his first start since January 14 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He earned his second shutout in a Red Wings uniform and didn’t appear phased by the lengthy time between starts.
James Reimer jokes about the length between his most recent pair of starts
Reimer earned the start today, his first since January 14th, and showed no signs of rust whatsoever. He made several clutch saves throughout the game, ultimately securing his 30th career shutout.
“It’s good, I was well rested,” Reimer joked. “Thought I should make as many saves as possible. It’s fun to play the game and fun to play behind these guys. I’m happy we got the two points. It’s one of those things where we haven’t played as well as we could have the last couple of games, so we were a pretty focused and dialed-in group tonight. We were motivated, knew what we needed to do, and we played great.”
“You don’t focus on much more other than your own game, whether you make 35 saves in the first period or two. You want to get to your spots, be big, and read the play. I was able to do that, and some huge blocks from the guys too. And like any shutout, I got a few lucky breaks off the post, so just a classic shutout.”
After Alex Lyon had played in 17 of the last 18 games, Detroit turned to Reimer, particularly in light of Ville Husso’s injury, which is expected to sideline him for the foreseeable future.
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings bounced back from their previous two defeats, picking up a 5-0 victory over the Calgary Flames
- Goaltender James Reimer made 38 saves for his 30th career shutout
- James Reimer jokes about the length between his most recent two starts in his postgame comments
Bottom Line: A badly-needed two points
The Red Wings secured much-needed two points, aiding them in staying competitive in the tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
Their current road trip concludes with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in the Pacific Northwest on Monday.
