Claude Giroux pulled the Flyers even early in the second. From there, the wheels fell off. Tomas Jurco put the Red Wings ahead, Pavel Datsyuk put the game away and the Flyers fell to the Red Wings 5-2 at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday night.
The Flyers started strong. They pushed the pace early. Detroit was able to weather the storm and began to flex their muscle.
Stephen Weiss got his third goal of the season at 10:12 of the opening period. Weiss deflected a Wes Helm shot to put Detroit ahead 1-0 midway through the first period.
The teams finished the period with seven shots a piece in the first. Jakub Voracek had the best chance for Philadelphia. The Flyers winger skated all the way around the net and hit the inside post with a shot.
Claude Giroux tied the score at oneat 2:31 of the second period. The Flyer captain skated the puck in and fired a wrist shot past Jimmy Howard. The goal was Giroux's first even strength goal of the season.
From there Detroit took control. The Red Wings scored three more times in the middle frame. Tomas Jurco got his second of the season at 10:18 to put Detroit up 2-1.
Less than two minutes later, Pavel Datsyuk extended the lead to 3-1. Datsyuk scored a power play goal at 11:47. He won the draw and fired a shot past Steve Mason just six seconds into the man advantage. The goal was his seventh of the year.
That would be the end of Mason's night. Coach Craig Berube decided to pull his starter for Ray Emery in an effort to change the momentum. I did not work.
Datsyuk would get his second of the game and eigth of the season at 18:39 to put Detroit up 4-1 at the end of the second. Datsyuk slammed home a rebound of a Wes Helm shot.
The Flyers had no push in the third. They were able to get within two as Jakub Voracek got his eigth of the season on the power play at 12:25 of the third. It was as close as the Flyers would get.
Henrik Zetterberg finished off the scoring with an empty netter and Detroit won 5-2. The Flyers were outshot 25-24 for the game. The loss drops them to 7-10-3 on the year and have 2-17-2 record in Detroit in the Flyers will be back in actheir last 21 games at the Joe.
The Flyers will be back in action on Friday as they host the Rangers in a matinee in Philadelphia. Game time is 1:00.
Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074
