I vividly remember December 28, 1996 for some reason. I was sitting in my living room watching SportsCenter, back in a time when they actually gave hockey the time of day it deserves, with the Christmas tree blinking in the periphery, and on came the highlights of a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals.
Red Wings Vs. Senators: Johan Franzen Scores Five Goals In Memorable Detroit Win
I guess I remember it because I thought scoring five goals in a game was just so fantastic, and that’s what Sergei Fedorov did that night. In fact, he scored all five Red Wings goals in a 5-4 overtime win. Since then, it’s a feat that’s only happened twice -- once in 2007 by Marian Gaborik and once last night, as the Johan Franzen potted five to pace the Wings to a 7-5 win over Ottawa.
Alex Kovalev opened the scoring early for the Senators, but it wasn’t long before the game became the Franzen show. About six minutes after Kovalev’s tally, Franzen tied the score, and then less than a minute later he gave Detroit a lead. Detroit lost the lead for a bit, but by the end of the second period, thanks to goals from Kris Draper and Niklas Kronwall, the score was knotted a 4-4.
Then, Franzen really took over. He scored 30 seconds in to the third period to give his team another lead, and he scored two more in the final 20 minutes to give his team the victory. Jimmy Howard made 29 saves on 34 saves, while Robin Lehner and Brian Elliott shared the getting-embarrassed-by-Franzen duties.
Remember last night’s display from The Mule, because it doesn’t happen often.
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