The Winged Wheel Weekly
Week in Review
Following the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, the Red Wings had another five days off before resuming the regular season on Saturday when they hosted Vancouver. It was Patrick Kane’s 1,200th career game, and Lucas Raymond wasted no time putting the wind back in their sails. He cut below his defender at the bottom of the left circle and bee-lined to the slot. He faked shorthanded and earned the commitment from netminder Casey DeSmith, allowing him to hold and tuck the puck around the outstretched left pad for an early 1-0 Detroit lead just 45 seconds into the game.
The Wings’ advantage held until period two, when the Canucks piled on three unanswered goals. First, former Detroit defender Filip Hronek’s low slapper from the right point was deflected high by Nils Hoglander, finding space over Alex Lyon’s right shoulder to tie the game at 1:09. Next, as a Wings’ power play expired, Vancouver forced a turnover and hit Hronek as he left the penalty box ahead of the play. He faked a shot at the top of the hash marks with a leg kick but held and slid the puck just outside of Lyon’s left skate for his fourth of the year in his return to Little Ceasars Arena at the 11:10 mark. At 13:27 of the middle frame, Elias Pettersson pounced on a loose puck that rebounded off the end boards to the right of Lyon, tapping home a short-range marker for a 3-1 Vancouver lead.
Trailing by a pair in the third period, the Red Wings went back to work. At the tail end of a two-minute man advantage, Patrick Kane backhanded a pass to the slot from the right corner. Daniel Sprong was left uncovered and quickly converted with a one-timer through the five-hole for his 14th of the campaign.
Detroit tied the game at three just shy of eight minutes into the third. Jake Walman slapped a shot from the left point and Michael Rasmussen was positioned in front of DeSmith and able to get a stick on it. He redirected the low shot up and over the goaltender’s left shoulder for his 11th of the season and the game-tying tally.
The score remained knotted at three through the end of regulation. In overtime, Raymond hit Walman with a breakout pass that resulted in a breakaway. Walman was slashed from behind and awarded his first penalty shot and the first overtime penalty shot in Red Wings’ history. He didn’t disappoint, sniping the space between the left pad and blocker with a snapshot from the slot for the 4-3 OT victory.
Top Performers
Scoring leaders for the club are Dylan Larkin (23 G, 24 A) with 47 points, Alex DeBrincat (18 G, 25 A) with 43, and Lucas Raymond (14 G, 28 A) with 42. Shane Gostisbehere tops the rearguards with 32 points from seven tallies and 25 helpers. Alex Lyon leads the trio of goaltenders with 14 wins in 22 appearances. He carries a goals-against average of 2.54 and the NHL’s fourth-best save percentage of .921.
Standings Update and What’s Ahead
The Red Wings hold the fifth spot in the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 27-18-6. They’re tied with Toronto with 60 points and only one point behind the Lightning, who have 61. Toronto and Detroit occupy the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.
The club embarks on a four-game road trip beginning Tuesday evening in Edmonton (9 pm ET). They’ll face the Canucks (10 pm ET) again on Thursday in Vancouver before traveling to Calgary (4 pm ET) for a Saturday tilt to round out next week’s action.
