The Red Wings had 23 blocks against the Florida Panthers, who won the game 3-2 in overtime. But a cluster of blocks and a couple of wild saves preceded Red Wings forward Pius Suter's goal late in the third period that tied the game for Detroit.
Forward Adam Erne had the first blocked shot, got up hobbling, then blocked another 15 seconds later and went crumbling to the ice before gingerly getting up again. Forward Robby Fabbri blocked a one-timer three seconds after that, then another shot four seconds later.
Detroit goalie Alex Nedeljkovic got in on the fun with a sprawling save on Panthers forward Brandon Montour with 6:04 left in the period. But when that save left Nedeljkovic out of position and the net open, defenseman Filip Hronek slid into his place while defenseman Danny DeKeyser and Suter provided some defensive reinforcement.
Nedeljkovic got back to the net but was in a seated position when the Panthers took another couple of whacks that wouldn't go in.
Fabbri blocked a third shot, then DeKeyser's stick broke as he tried to clear the puck out of the zone. That gave Montour another chance to go in on Nedeljkovic, who swatted the puck away with his glove.
The whole thing lasted less than a minute, but probably took years off everyone's life, including everyone watching.
"It's a little bit telling of our team - the sacrifice you see on that shift," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "As you could tell from the crowd, that was pretty awesome."
NHL.com Independent Correspondent Dave Hogg contributed to this story.
