If you watched the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday night, you may have missed a wild ending in the game between the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings looked like they had the game put away with a 5-2 advantage and just over five minutes remaining in the third period. That’s when Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi (not to be confused with Todd Bertuzzi of the infamous Steve Moore sucker-punch incident) was hit with a five-minute penalty for a two-handed slash on Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck.
First, here’s the slash that gave the Islanders five minutes with the man advantage.
Did the slash warrant the five-minute major penalty? That’s a polarizing question. Some fans feel the two-handed nature of the slash deserves a harsh response from the officials, while others feel Clutterbuck might have made the most of it. It’s difficult to determine exactly where the slash landed. If it caught him between the pads, Clutterbuck’s response would be justified, though Red Wings fans would love to hit him with an embellishment penalty.
The Islanders certainly made the most of their power play. They rattled off four consecutive goals to take a 6-5 lead with just under two minutes left in the game.
Below is an abbreviated look highlighting all of the goals from that insane power play.
Was Josh Bailey’s goal, the fourth of the power play and sixth for the Isles in the game, enough to claim a regulation win?
Nope!
The Red Wings’ Mike Green managed to find the back of the net with 29 seconds left to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOLjcJ9RWTg
So, how did this wild game end? Brock Nelson and the Islanders had the last laugh as Nelson completed his hat trick a few minutes into overtime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E89iMUb6dI
Red Wings fans are going to be upset about the call on Bertuzzi. Even if they feel it was a bad decision, they should be more upset with how the Red Wings looked on the penalty kill. You can’t expect to win a game where you give up four goals on a five-minute major.
