The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up a slate of 3 games played over the course of 3 days and nights with a 6-4 loss to a loaded Chicago Blackhawks team on Monday.
Detroit did a fine job of rallying from 3-0 and 4-1 deficits to tie the game at 4-4 thanks to a 4-for-5 power play, but Chicago was able to pull away late in the 3rd period, negating excellent efforts by Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Robby Fabbri and the rest of the Red Wings’ youth movement.
In the 1st period, the Red Wings iced a fairly solid lineup opposite Chicago, but they couldn’t dress all their NHL players at once, and Detroit’s 2-NHL-lines-and-2-NHL-defensive-pairs lineup would have to make due against the best the Blackhawks could bring.
With Robby Fabbri and Danny DeKeyser wearing the “A’s”, and Taro Hirose, Joe Veleno and Carter Rowney starting up front, with Donovan Sebrango and Wyatt Newpower on defense, and Thomas Greiss starting opposite Marc-Andre Fleury:
Lucas Raymond got the night’s first shot on a mini-breakaway, but Chicago received the first power play as Wyatt Newpower sat at 2:46 for hooking.
On the power play, Suter, Pearson, Leddy and Seider worked as the first PK unit…
But they stood around and watched as Tyler Johnson received a lateral pass from Jonathan Toews, Johnson evaded both Seider and Pearson, and he tucked the puck into the net over a diving Greiss.
Johnson scored from Toews @ 4:22, making it 1-0 Chicago.
WORSE, DeKeyser and Hronek got caught standing around with Fabbri, Suter and Ryan up front, and Jake McCabe ripped a heavy shot through a bit of a screen by Ryan and through Greiss, who should have stopped the goal.
McCabe made it 2-0 from Toews (again) and Seth Jones at 6:19, making it 2-0.
Even worser, Donovan Sebrango took a stupid hooking penalty at 7:38, affording Chicago a second power play, and they converted, of course, with Seider watching Brandon Hagel shovel the puck over to Phillip Kurashev, who was unmolested by Pius Suter.
The result? Easy 3-0 goal on a helpless Greiss.
The goal was Kurashev from Hagel and Dominik Kubalik at 9:40 of the 1st, making it 3-0.
Rather predictably, the Red Wings then proceeded up ice for a 3-on-2, but Lucas Raymond passed to Dylan Larkin instead of shooting, Larkin passed down to Filip Zadina, and he missed the pass, negating the 3-on-2.
Detroit had been out-shot 10-2 after the first 10:52 of play.
Detroit slowly steadied itself over the course of the next 5 minutes’ worth of play, but Chicago kept dominating possession and control of the puck, and the Wings’ lack of time and space with the puck yielded all sorts of mistakes against a harder-skating team.
The Wings earned their first power play via some hard work by Raymond, Larkin and Zadina in the offensive zone, with Calvin de Haan heading off for tripping at 14:13…
Larkin worked with Hirose, Ryan, Leddy and Raymond (on the point) on the 1st PP unit, and the 2nd unit of Fabbri, Suter, Zadina, Hronek and Seider generated 3 of the Wings’ 4 shots, with Fabbri generating 2 scoring opportunities, but all was for naught.
Worse and worser, Donovan Sebrango headed off with 1:22 remaining for a trip on Dominik Kubalik, so the Wings had to kill a penalty during the final moments of the first period.
Ultimately, Detroit exited the 1st period down 1-0, and facing 48 seconds of PP time to start the 2nd.
Detroit was out-shot 16-10, out-attempted 19-14, Detroit had 4 giveaways to Chicago’s 1, and the Wings went 4-and-10 (29%) on faceoffs in the first period.
Intermission entertainment: Bally Sports Detroit also posted a quick little clip of comments from Dylan Larkin:
Ahead of tonight’s Original 6 exhibition matchup, we hear from @DetroitRedWings captain Dylan Larkin who talks about his excitement level for the upcoming season. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/SlEav0qajs— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 4, 2021
In the 2nd period, the Hawks began on the power play, and Tyler Johnson almost scored a 4-0 goal, but Johnson flubbed the puck, and both Moritz Seider and Thomas Greiss were able to get across to stop the shot. YIKES!
Greiss continued to have to bail out the Wings as Detroit continued to choose to watch Chicago’s splendid skaters instead of matching their effort. Griess had to make a tremendous stop on Ryan Carpenter as Chicago accumulated a 19-10 shot advantage some 2:40 into the 2nd…
Joe Veleno did a fine job of milking a hook by Jakub Galvas, chugging his skates, and Detroit headed to the power play at 3:53…
And Dylan Larkin ripped a shot off Fleury, kept the puck alive, and Nick Leddy fed Lucas Raymond, he shot-passed it to Bobby Ryan, and it was 3-1 in a hurry.
An absolutely sick feed from Lucas Raymond is redirected past Marc-Andre Fleury by Bobby Ryan, putting the @DetroitRedWings on the board early in the 2nd! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/pZ5uJTAzfW— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 5, 2021
Bobby Ryan scored from Lucas Raymond and Nick Leddy at 4:07 of the 2nd, PPG. 3-1 Chicago.
On the post-goal shift, Filip Zadina fed Pius Suter, Suter fed the puck to Robby Fabbri, and he beat Fleury 5-hole but could not shovel the puck into the net. It trickled wide, and Suter didn’t stop at the side of the net, so he couldn’t tuck the rebound in, either.
Nice little play by Zadina to get the puck to Suter, who makes a great dish to Fabbri that’s left unfinished #LGRW pic.twitter.com/y75dAyt4Nt— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi) October 5, 2021
Bobby Ryan on the power play + a nice feed from Lucas Raymond. pic.twitter.com/3cZtTQms2a— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021
Sadly, on a dump-in, Moritz Seider was unable to stop Brandon Hagel from centering the puck from the right wing icing line, Nick Leddy watched the puck, and, as a result, MacKenzie Entwistle stuffed the puck past Greiss for a 4-1 goal.
Entwistle scored from Hagel and Calvin DeHaan at 6:49 of the 2nd. It was 4-1 Chicago.
On the next damn shift, Bobby Ryan and Robby Fabbri engaged in a gorgeous passing play, baffling the Hawks’ defense, but Fabbri’s pass to Pius Suter in the goal mouth went off Suter’s skate, and Detroit was unable to convert.
The Red Wings headed to PP #2 thanks to Wyatt Newpower selling a “rough” by Dominik Kubalik at 9:11, They generated some scoring chances, via Larkin backhand in tight, a Fabbri opportunity…
Thankfully, Moritz Seider was able to lean into a one-timed shot on a pass from Filip Zadina, and Pius Suter screened Fleury, affording Detroit a power play goal.
A rocket from Moritz Seider finds its way to the back of the net! Are you getting excited for the future or what? #LGRW pic.twitter.com/X528HM30eu— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 5, 2021
Seider goal alert? #LGRW pic.twitter.com/2ksPudtQ4W— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 5, 2021
We want some Mo! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/rEootDEvWs— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021
Seider scored from Zadina and Robby Fabbri on the power play, at 10:33 of the 2nd. Detroit trailed 4-2.
Even better, Detroit then headed to their third power play of the night when Patrick Kane high-sticked Givani Smith at 11:12…
And after some hiccups, Filip Hronek and Moritz Seider played catch with the puck, Robby Fabbri chipped the puck through Pius Suter’s legs, with Fabbri playing the “bumper” and Suter screening Fleury, and it was 4-3!
Robby Fabbri finishes off a beauty! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/kKN8p5FyiP— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021
Seider?Hronek?Fabbri? #LGRW pic.twitter.com/EnMlxyeQby— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 5, 2021
Fabbri scored from Hronek and Seider at 12:58, PPG. And it was 4-3!
Calvin de Haan kept the Wings awake with a shot off the goalpost behind Thomas Greiss on the post-goal shift, so it wasn’t like Chicago had given up–on the contrary…
So Chicago regained their sea legs as the 2nd period progressed, and it took some good breaks and some semblance of a Detroit forecheck to keep the Hawks from making it 5-3…
But Detroit did the job and did if fairly well, if occasionally fumbling the puck and fumbling chances.
That being said, the Zadina-Larkin-Raymond line was plain old fun to watch, as were Fabbri, Suter and Ryan, and the Wings’ other two lines ensured that Detroit emerged from the 2nd period with a 4-3 deficit.
After 2 periods, Detroit was out-shooting Chicago 27-25 (17-9 in the 2nd), the attempts were 39-34 Detroit, Detroit was still 13-and-23 (36%) in the faceoff circle, and Detroit had 7 giveaways, but they also had 6 takeaways…And the PP was 3 for 4 in only 5:23 of time.
During the intermission, Seider spoke with Trevor Thompson:
@iamtrevort is joined by defenseman Moritz Seider, who tallied a power-play goal earlier in tonight’s 2nd period. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/OjVqdWQbpn— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 5, 2021
O̶n̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ p̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶a̶l̶
T̶w̶o̶ ̶p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ p̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶a̶l̶s̶
Three power play goals. pic.twitter.com/ifmBO3jEe6— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021
In the 3rd period, Detroit continued to roll four lines, giving the Hirose-Veleno-Rowney and Pearson-Tyutyayev
But Bobby Ryan slithered a steal back to Robby Fabbri for the 3rd period’s first shot, a heavy snapper that Fleury had to windmill with his glove to stop…
Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin and Filip Zadina got a fairly good cycle going, and Caleb Jones took a penalty as a result, giving Detroit its 5th power play:
Caleb Jones sat for interference at 1:52.
On the power play, the Wings got a little too cute, affording Fleury the opportunity to see the pucks they were shooting at him…
But the Blackhawks left Lucas Raymond alone on the right wing faceoff circle, and Raymond RIFLED a pass from Dylan Larkin into the top of the net off the Hawks’ defender.
An absolute top shelf SNIPE from Lucas Raymond ties this baby up at 4-4! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/hpRXSl9yVf— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 5, 2021
Lucas. Raymond. pic.twitter.com/7fN5sUzNnu— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 5, 2021
Lucas Raymond scored from Dylan Larkin and Bobby Ryan at 3:05. 4-4, PPG.
Detroit kept the offensive attack up after the goal, though Thomas Greiss had to make a superb stop on Alex DeBrincat to keep things even, and Patrick Kane got a fine chance off some 8 minutes into the 3rd, with Greiss making another fine stop…
Eventually, Chicago hemmed the Wings in quite severely, and Greiss had to stop 7 shots to Fleury’s 5 (of 6) some 9:12 into the 3rd…
And Chicago made it 5-4 in a hurry as Givani Smith made a horrific centering pass right to Wyatt Newpower, he passed the puck right to Brandon Hagel, and Wings defenseman Donovan Sebrango flubbed the 2-on-2 and gave Chicago a 2-on-1…
Bang bang, Entwistle tucked the puck into the net behind Greiss.
?MACK ATTACK ?
We are up by 1! pic.twitter.com/1GtykERkdd— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 5, 2021
Chicago’s Entwistle made it 5-4 from Hagel at 10:20 of the 3rd.
After Chicago scored, the game settled down considerably, and Detroit had to struggle against the speedy game clock. 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes, it sped and sped down and down some more, and by the time that Robby Fabbri was robbed by Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove, there were just over 2 minutes remaining…
Greiss was pulled with 2:21 left, and when the Wings’ net was empty, Hronek, Leddy, Raymond, Larkin, Fabbri and Ryan cycled, cycled, and got only one shot off on Fleury in 51 seconds.
Detroit called a timeout with 1:30 remaining….
And the same unit continued to pass, pass, and pass some more, even after an icing call that went Nick Leddy’s way, and Raymond’s attempt to shoot a puck into the net fro the side did not work.
Sadly, Toews and DeBrincat connected for an empty-net goal, giving Chicago a 6-4 victory.
DeBrincat scored from Toews and Kane at 19:47, making it 6-4.
Detroit erased a 3-0 deficit, and went 4-for-5 on the power play, but it wasn’t quite enough on this night.
At least this night. We’ll see whether all the learning through mistakes yield better results during the regular season, even against Chicago. We can hope!
Oh yeah, by the way, Larkin got poke checked, Raymond fanned, Fabbri went blocker side to score a goal on Fleury in the shootout, Bobby Ryan was stopped, as was Filip Zadina; Alex DeBrincat sent the Hawks’ fans home happy with the shootout-ending winner (Tyler Johnson also scored for Chicago).
Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:
