Updated 3x at 9 AM: The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 in the teams’ preseason opener at Little Caesars Arena.
The teams will play again on Wednesday in Chicago (8:30 PM EDT on the NHL Network, NBCS Chicago Plus and NHL.tv).
NHL.com posted a quick game recap of Tuesday night’s game…
Michael Rasmussen broke a tie with 4:37 remaining in the third period, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 at Little Caesars Arena.
It was the first preseason game for the Red Wings.
Rasmussen scored on the power play when his backhand deflected in off Blackhawks defenseman Carl Dahlstrom.
Matt Puempel, Matthew Ford, Chris Terry and Luke Glendening (empty net) scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard made seven saves on eight shots for the Red Wings, and Calvin Pickard made 15 saves on 17 shots in relief.
Dominik Kubalik scored twice, and Philip Holm had a goal and an assist for Chicago.
Starter Robin Lehner made 15 saves on 17 shots in his Blackhawks debut, and Kevin Lankinen made 19 saves on 21 shots.
MLive’s Ansar Khan also filed a recap…
[Michael] Rasmussen, the 6-6, 221-pound forward the Red Wings selected ninth overall in the 2017 draft, is competing for a roster spot after appearing in 62 games with the Red Wings last season as a rookie. He wasn’t able to play in the AHL in 2018-19 (except for a brief conditioning stint) because he still had junior eligibility.
This season, he can be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins if the Red Wings believe he is not NHL-ready.
The Red Wings got a boost from some of the Griffins’ veterans. Matt Puempel, Matthew Ford and Chris Terry also scored goals. Luke Glendening sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal with 1:00 remaining.
Jimmy Howard stopped 7-of-8 shots in 29 minutes before being replaced by Calvin Pickard, who stopped 15-of-17 shots he faced.
Both teams dressed only a handful of players expected to make their season-opening rosters. The clubs will meet again Wednesday night at the United Center in a game that figures to feature more regular NHL players.
The Free Press’s Helene St. James filed a recap with quotes and notes…
“It was a good win for a young team we had tonight,” Glendening said. “I thought we were competitive, had a great work ethic. At this time of year, that’s what you’re looking for.”
Prospects Dennis Cholowski and Christoffer Ehn assisted on goals by minor leaguers Matt Puempel, Matthew Ford and Chris Terry.
…
Evgeny Svechnikov said it felt “amazing” to play for the first time since suffering a knee injury during last year’s exhibition season. Svechnikov underwent anterior ligament cruciate ligament reconstruction in October and missed the entire 2018-19 season.
“I felt like I’m in there for the first time, like a kid, like going into first grade,” Svechnikov said. “Amazing feeling, and even better to win the game.”
…
Blashill made a comment during training camp that Nemeth “blocks shots for fun.” He blocked two during a penalty kill in the second period Tuesday.
“He’s awesome,” fellow penalty killer Glendening said. “I said, ‘we’re going to have to see who can block more this year.’ That guy, he’s great at blocking shots.”
The Wings signed Nemeth, 27, during free agency, scouting the 6-foot-3, 228-pound defenseman as a guy who can help them play better team defense. He plays like an ox, wins puck battles and net-front battles. He was paired with Filip Hronek, and will end up playing either with him or Mike Green, both offensive defensemen who shoot right.
The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan offered his observations on the game…
There’s been plenty of discussion of the Red Wings’ defensive prospects this camp. Moritz Seider, obviously, has been a big topic of discussion. Being a talented first-round draft pick will initiate such talk.
The expectations surrounding Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski continue to be there, and newly signed Oliwer Kaski played so well in Europe, that it’ll be interesting to see how he plays in North America.
You don’t hear as much, anymore, about Joe Hicketts. There might be a path for Hicketts to make this team as an extra defenseman, albeit slim, but for Hicketts to grab a spot he has to manage his game and keep throwing thunderous hits like he delivered in the first period.
And not doing a better job containing Kubalik, who wheeled around Hicketts and put a backhander past goaltender Calvin Pickard in the second period.
If you’re interested in the Hawks’ takes on the game, the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope and the Blackhawks’ website posted recaps. We’ll look more toward the “enemy’s take” as the regular season approaches; preseason is sort of an experimental time to see what works and what doesn’t in the recap department.
Multimedia:
Highlights: NHL.com posted a 4:59 highlight clip:
Post-game: The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 3:18 post-game clip:
MLive’s Ansar Khan posted videos of Luke Glendening, Michael Rasmussen and coach Jeff Blashill’s post-game remarks:
And the Red Wings posted a 7:11 post-game clip:
Photos: MLive posted a 25-image gallery;
The Free Press posted an 18-image gallery;
And the Detroit News posted a 16-image gallery.
Statistics: The Game Summary, Event Summary and Rosters are available from NHL.com.
The Wings utilized the following lines, per MLive’s Ansar Khan:
Red Wings lines for tonight’s game:
Evgeny Svechnikov-Michael Rasmussen-Taro Hirose
Luke Glendening-Jacob de la Rose-Christoffer Ehn
Chris Terry-Dominic Turgeon-Matthew Ford
Turner Elson-Chase Pearson-Matt Puempel
Defense pairs:
Patrik Nemeth-Filip Hronek
Dennis Cholowski-Madison Bowey
Joe Hicketts-Dylan McIlrath
Jimmy Howard (starting) and Calvin Pickard will split time in goal.
Update: Here’s a bit more on Rasmussen from Kulfan:
Rasmussen, parked in front of Chicago goalie Kevin Lankinen took a pass from Taro Hirose and bounced a shot off a Blackhawks defender and past Lehner.
“That’s what can separate him (Rasmussen), he’s a real good net-front power play guy,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He has pretty soft hands. That’s what I would say is a typical Mike Rasmussen goal and the impact he can have on the game.”
The Wings are playing Rasmussen at center this camp — he was mainly a wing last season. Earning a roster spot will be difficult for Rasmussen, considering Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Valtteri Filppula and Luke Glendening are all in front of him on the depth chart.
“Definitely I’m thinking about it,” said Rasmussen about the battle for a roster spot. “I want to help the team win. I’m just trying to win a job and helping the team win any way I can.
“I played all year last year on the wing. I haven’t played center in a while but it’s my natural position. It’s just about getting your reps in and your games in.”
Update #2: Also, from DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji’s “trending” recap:
Patrik Nemeth : With a defenseman like Nemeth, you aren’t necessarily looking to his point totals to gauge his effectiveness. Against the Blackhawks, Nemeth did pick up an assist on Glendening’s empty-net goal at 19:00 of the third but it was his defensive play that had people talking afterward. Of the Wings’ 12 blocked shots, Nemeth had a fourth of them. Glendening and Terry each had two. During training camp in Traverse City, Blashill said that Nemeth blocks shots “for fun.” Last season Glendening was the only Wing with more than 100 blocked shots, leading the team with 102. For the Colorado Avalanche last season, Nemeth had 131. He finished the game with 22 shifts for 20:23, had two shots, one hit, the three blocks and was even.
Quotable: “He’s awesome. We’re going to have to see who can block more this year. That guy, he’s great at blocking shots. He’s a great add for our team.” — Glendening
Quotable II: “Nemeth, that’s awesome. I don’t know how many blocks he had but they were big ones and they were stepping out and … he’s a good blocker. Our penalty kill is going to be better because he knows how to kill. You got to block shots and he’s great at it. Somebody told me that at one of the summer skates, he blocked 15 shots. He doesn’t flinch. He blocked a shot in practice this morning that I was like ‘I don’t know if we need to be doing that.’ But that’s just what he does.” — Blashill
Update #3: Fox Sports Detroit posted a clip of Luke Glendening’s post-game comments:
