Damien Brunner Scores In Overtime To Lift Red Wings Past Ducks

Damien Brunner scored with just under five minutes remaining in overtime to cap off a thrilling 3-2 win for the Detroit Red Wings over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena on Monday night.

The Western Conference quarter-final is now tied at 2-2 with both of Detroit’s wins coming in overtime, after Gustav Nyquist’s heroics in Game 2 last Thursday.

The scene will now shift to the Honda Center in Anaheim for the all-important Game 5 where both teams will be looking to take a stranglehold on the series.

The Ducks started off well on Monday evening and took the lead at the 5:07 mark of the first period after Matt Beleskey’s second goal of the NHL playoffs.

It was a tight-checking affair with no goals in the second period setting up a tense 20 minutes for the Red Wings who were trying to avoid a 3-1 hole in the series.

Detroit came out flying in the third period and knotted the score at 1-1 thanks to Brendan Smith’s goal just over a minute into the stanza.

However, the Ducks fought back and took a 2-1 lead when David Steckel beat Jimmy Howard at the midway point of the third period.

The Red Wings were desperately searching for the tying goal and their prayers were answered when Pavel Datsyuk scored with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation time.

The Ducks had a glorious chance to win it late in the game when Ryan Getzlaf had a breakaway but Howard stood tall between the pipes to send the game into overtime.

Brunner took center stage in the extra session after he found himself in the right place at the right time to cap off a wild sequence in front of the Anaheim net.

Damien Brunner scored the winner when he swatted the puck into the net after some good work from Nyquist to send the Motor City faithful rocking deep into the night.