Last night’s Red Wings’ 3-2 OT victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins included production from the team’s youth movement, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes:
“These young guys are pushing, it’s just going to push everyone to be better,” [Dylan] Larkin said. “There’s opportunity there for jobs. Guys understand there’s minutes and power-play time and these young guys are pushing. I’m excited about it. It’s definitely in the back of my mind a little bit that these guys are coming and they’re players and they’re only going to help us. It wouldn’t surprise me by Day 1 we have some fresh faces. They’re energized, they’re skilled and they can play the game. It could be the first time I’m not the youngest guy on the team. That’s why I’m growing out this beard.”
[Dennis] Cholowski assisted on two goals, including Rasmussen’s. Cholowski’s shot hit the post. Larkin corralled the rebound and passed to [Michael] Rasmussen at the net-front for an easy tap-in, just one second after a power play expired.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Rasmussen started slowly but got better as the game progressed.
“I thought he was doing the things he needs to do,” Blashill said. “He was engaged, really a big hit in the second period. He was strong on the puck, he’s great around the net. He’s got real good hands in that area. Got kind of a blind-side hit in the third and didn’t budge because he’s a big, big, big man. And as much as we talk about skating in this game today, size matters. He’s a big man with a good set of hands, so I thought he had a good night.”
