After dominating the Chicago Blackhawks and 2023 No. 1 overall selection Connor Bedard, the Detroit Red Wings concluded a successful weekend.
Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena, the Wings scored early and often, much to the joy of boisterous supporters who, judging by their clothes, had followed the Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera’s farewell game at Comerica Park in the afternoon. En route to a 6-1 triumph, the Wings collected goals from veterans, rookies, and recent draft picks.
“Many good things,” head coach Derek Lalonde stated. “We made some excellent structural decisions. We had a great first period the other night, but several turnovers caused the game to slip away from us. The good news: our young men got a lot of reps and the goaltending was excellent.
You see diverse lineups in these games, so it’s difficult to rate them. You kind of just want to judge yourself on yourself because most teams won’t have such a strong roster while playing away, and overall, I think it was quite nice.”
The Wings moved to 3-1-0 in exhibition play on Saturday night after defeating the Washington Capitals, 5-2, with the help of prolific scoring, a solid penalty kill unit, and goaltending from James Reimer and Alex Lyon. Early in the game, newcomer Daniel Sprong scored the first goal, and Michael Rasmussen, who also got an assist, extended the lead with his second goal.
wholesome Robby Fabbri and Andrew Copp are a part of the Red Wings’ enhanced future perspective.
J.T. Compher stated, “I think we’re doing some good things.” Coaches often discuss process, and I believe that concept is being built upon every day.
After Elmer Söderblom was kneeled by Alex Vlasic, resulting in a five-minute power play, Compher scored.
In 25:58 of ice time, Reimer made 12 stops to stop Jason Dickinson on a breakaway before giving up the puck to Lyon. At 5:04 in the third, Louis Crevier broke the shutout attempt, leaving Lyon with 16 saves.
2023 draftees on display
Bedard, the projected generational player the Blackhawks were fortunate enough to select when they won the 2023 draft lottery, was given a close-up view by fans in attendance. However, Nate Danielson, the Wings’ first pick and the ninth overall choice in that draft, kept demonstrating his talent: he assisted Sprong’s goal at 2:46 of the first period and put up a goal for the second straight game. In the second half, Bedard made a deft move to get around Rasmussen and force Reimer to make a save.
Lalonde exclaimed, “That was a wow moment, which is awesome.” “That’s just incredibly wonderful for the league—those young players, those superstars in the making, which he seems like he will be. That’s why I know my lads came here tonight. They made the journey here after they were supposed to remain on the couch till I informed them that Bedard was inside.”
Sweet music
The success of multiple recent draft picks helped the Wings take a 4-0 lead. Söderblom (2019 draft, No. 159) capitalized on being left unguarded in the slot to complete an ideal setup created by Amadeus Lombardi (2022, 113), who won the puck battle and produced the play from behind the net. At 4:52, Antii Tuomisto (2019, 35) scored with a slap shot, and Marco Kasper (2022, 8) finished with a secondary assist.
Compher remarked, “Some of the young guys have played really well.” “They are also excellent kids; they put in a lot of work and hang out with the questions after practice. The most crucial thing is that they are open to learning. This is a crucial moment in their lives.”
Killing time
A two-man advantage for the Blackhawks was created at 1:34 of the second period after youngster Simon Edvinsson was called for tripping at 13:20, following defenseman Olli Määttä’s dismissal for roughing at 9:43. Bedard and his allies were neutralized by Lyon, who made three saves, Compher, Jeff Petry, and Shayne Gostisbehere getting in lanes down low.
“Practicing during the preseason is beneficial as it allows for increased repetitions,” Compher stated.
When Edvinsson came out of the box, the Wings had already played the game for slightly over seven minutes with just one player. In the final minutes of play, they successfully negated another penalty awarded to Määttä.