The Detroit Red Wings began tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins looking to close out their preseason on high notes: possessing a 3-and-3 record, a slimmed-down Red Wings roster views these final two games as “dress rehearsals” for the regular season, and while the results of the game may not count for anything, the team’s performances tonight and Saturday vs. Buffalo (3 PM EDT on MSG B) matter.
Thursday’s game wasn’t easy to judge given the caliber of the Penguins’ roster, which was clearly a “B Team”–and the Wings’ mental fatigue was a concern, despite playing 5 exhibition games in 6 nights–but Detroit out-lasted Pittsburgh, surrendering a 2-goal lead but ultimately winning a 4-2 decision.
Joe Veleno registered a goal and an assist, Pius Suter, Filip Hronek and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored (Bertuzzi’s goal was an empty-netter), and Thomas Greiss stopped 22 shots in a game where Moritz Seider played 21:18, taking 5 shots.
In the 1st period: The game began with the following lineups opposing each other:
Ken Daniels also reported that Chase Pearson got the nod in the lineup due to a “minor injury” affecting Givani Smith, which isn’t good for Smith’s attempts to make the roster.
Anyway, the game began with Veleno’s line mashing the puck into the Penguins’ zone, and Veleno, Hirose and Ryan did a good job of generating and sustaining puck possession, with Taro Hirose taking the Wings’ first shot just short of 30 seconds into the 1st period;
Chase Pearson nearly set up Sam Gagner for an easy back-door goal, but the puck trickled wide of Gagner’s fanned-shooting stick;
Luke Witkowski absolutely mashed a Penguin in the defensive zone, resulting almost immediately in Red Wings puck possession in the offensive zone, with Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno putting on clinics, and Carter Rowney setting up Riley Barber for a breakaway opportunity that Casey DeSmith stifled…
Bobby Ryan ripped a heavy shot in on DeSmith, but the Penguins’ defense kept the puck from rolling into the back of the net…
And the long story long is that, as you might expect, Detroit was all over Pittsburgh early in the game.
Lindstrom fed Rowney for a good chance, and it was one of many; Berggren roared around the offensive zone with the kind of “legs” that he was missing on Wednesday;
By the first TV timeout @ 6:38, Detroit was out-shooting Pittsburgh 6-1 and out-attempting Pittsburgh 11-1.
Detroit continued to buzz in the Penguins’ zone after the TV Timeout, and Ryan, Veleno, Renouf, Bertuzzi and Raymond all had opportunities to score;
Greiss made his second stop of the night with 8:10 expired in the 1st;
Eventually, Pittsburgh staggered to life, and gave the Wings fits for a couple of minutes, but the fourth line of Barber, Stephens and Rowney did a good job of pushing the nexus of play away from their own goaltender, and, save some hiccups from the Wings’ green defense, things settled in to a rhythm.
Lucas Raymond had a particularly good shift with Bertuzzi and Suter (and Lindstrom and Seider), getting talked up by the Bally Sports Detroit crew of Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels, but Raymond wasn’t alone in playing well…
By the time Pittsburgh headed to the PK at 15:20, with Nathan Legare caught for hooking, Detroit was out-shooting Pittsburgh 10-3 and out-attempting theme 17-6.
Bertuzzi, Ryan, Hronek, Seider and Gagner got to work, cycling in the Penguins’ zone…
And when the Wings’ second unit of Barber, Veleno, Suter and Hirose came out, with Seider remaining on the blueline, Detroit got a pair of shots off (from Veleno and Seider)…
The Red Wings set up down low, Taro Hirose found Joe Veleno at the side of the net, and he sent the puck between his legs to Pius Suter, who jabbed the puck into the goal.
It came right after the power play ended but Pius Suter gets the puck and scores. Joe Veleno and Taro Hirose pick up the assists. 1-0 @DetroitRedWings at 17:22 of the first period. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/VgcFm2940p— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
Pius Suter! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/V6tj93tkrH— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 8, 2021
Suter scored from Veleno and Hirose at 17:22, even strength goal, 1-0 Detroit.
Detroit gave quite a bit of ice time to the Bertuzzi-Suter-Raymond line, even as Pittsburgh rebounded from its fatigue and began to attack the Wings’ net…
But Jonatan Berggren drew a tripping penalty on Juuso Riikola with 20.9 seconds remaining in the 1st period, and Detroit headed back to the power play.
The 1st period expired before the Wings could get going, but that was okay.
Tyler Bertuzzi also gave an interview to Bally Sports Detroit’s John Keating during the intermission:
John Keating chats with Tyler Bertuzzi in the first intermission. How does Bertuzzi feel in his first game? You’ll hear that answer and how Bertuzzi feels about being reunited with his former Guelph teammate, Pius Suter. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/ZLh1k2ljAb— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
In the 2nd period: Detroit began the 2nd period with approximately 1:39 of PP time, and Raymond, Gagner, Ryan, Bertuzzi and Hronek started the period, ind of fumbling with the puck in the period’s earliest moments, then settling down and settling into the Penguins’ zone.
Detroit also drew a penalty as Bobby Ryan was tripped by Chad Ruhwedel at 45 seconds of the 2nd, giving Detroit 55 ticks of a 5-on-3.
The Wings lost their initial offensive zone faceoff, and had to re-set;
Raymond, Hronek and Bertuzzi played catch, but were unable to stuff the puck through DeSmith.
Detroit won the next PP draw, and Seider, Suter, Barber, Veleno and Hirose were unable to connect during the 5-on-3.
Worse, Thomas Greiss got caught playing the puck outside the trapezoid at 2:03, negating the final 44 seconds of the Wings’ power play.
Lindstrom, Seider, Hirose and Suter worked the 4-on-4, and they actually generated a grade-B scoring chance;
When the Penguins hit the power play, Gagner, Stephens, Hronek and Staal got to work, killing about 40 seconds of PK time;
Bertuzzi, Rowney, Renouf and Witkowski then worked the 2nd unit, and killed the rest of the Penguins’ PP time.
As the Wings came out of the penalty box, Bertuzzi and Chase Pearson almost generated a goal thanks to a flub by DeSmith, but the Penguins’ goaltender recovered.
Berggren, Pearson and Barber worked together on a revamped 3rd line, and they did a fairly good job of battling through the Penguins’ defense;
Joe Veleno clanged a shot off the crossbar as well, but the story of the 2nd period was Casey DeSmith playing superbly well in the Penguins’ crease….
Until Filip Hronek was able to take a bad Penguins’ blueline-to-blueline pass that Sam Gagner intercepted, Hronek rushed in on a breakaway, and ripped the puck over DeSmith’s glove to make it 2-0.
Filip Hronek doesn’t miss on the partial breakaway, giving the @DetroitRedWings a 2-0 lead at 6:06 of the second. Assists to Marc Staal and Sam Gagner. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/g4lTTcwWRv— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
Filip Hronek with a beauty! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/f16OiLPPaM— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 8, 2021
Filip Hronek scored at 6:06 from Sam Gagner, making it 2-0.
Pittsburgh did not have Malkin, Crosby or Letang, but they were still pesky as all hell get out, so the Red Wings had some difficulty stopping Pittsburgh’s attack through the middle portion of the 2nd period.
Thomas Greiss was quite good in stifling Pittsburgh’s shooters, but Luke Witkowski headed to the penalty box at 9:43 for holding the stick…
And Pittsburgh’s Drew O’Connor scored to make it 2-1.
O’Connor scored from Mike Matheson and Valtteri Puustinen at 10:20 of the 2nd, on the power play, making it 2-1.
Pittsburgh continued to attack the Red Wings with gusto as the 2nd period progressed, and Detroit was definitely skating on their back foot for a good portion thereof.
Detroit just looked gassed after playing 5 games in 6 nights, mentally as well as physically, and the Penguins’ “B Team” preyed upon the Wings’ mental and physical exhaustion.
A couple of good backchecking plays by Berggren and Suter, combined with a mini-breakaway for Mitchell Stephens (stifled by DeSmith), seemed to shake the Wings from their mid-game nap, and the Wings limped their way toward a 2nd intermission that was very badly needed.
During the 2nd intermission, Bally Sports Detroit announced that Manon Rheaume will be joining some telecasts this upcoming season as an analyst:
Manon Rhéaume is a trailblazer, the first woman to play in the NHL. She was recently honored in Quebec City with her very own statue. Rhéaume is now part of the @BallySportsDET family as she will be part of @DetroitRedWings broadcasts this season. pic.twitter.com/cSJoSTiqZM— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
In the 3rd period: Detroit began the 3rd period with Veleno, Ryan and Hirose on ice with Hronek and Staal, and Pittsburgh established possession and control of the puck in Detroit’s zone, but the Wings held them to a single shot attempt;
The game seemed to settle into a discordant rhythm as the period progressed, with the Penguins playing damn hard to tie the game, and Detroit…Limping along.
Tyler Bertuzzi blocked a shot and went off limping, but he was laughing on the bench a little later in the game;
Sadly, Joe Veleno chipped the puck back to Gustav Lindstrom, and Dominik Simon was able to break in almost alone (avoiding a referee) to score the 2-2 goal on Thomas Greiss.
Dominik Simon scored unassisted at 4:02 of the 3rd, making it 2-2.
Thankfully, Riley Barber, Jonatan Berggren and the defensive pairing of Moritz Seider and Gustav Lindstrom seemed to wake the Wings up some 6:30 into the 3rd, and Detroit regained its momentum.
Witkowski almost deked his way past DeSmith for a goal breaking in from the point;
Seider and Griess had to make a combined stop on O’Connor;
Ultimately, the Wings sort of staggered to their feet as the 3rd period progressed, but they couldn’t seem to beat DeSmith.
At the other end of the ice, Pittsburgh raced out to a 5-2 shot advantage at the halfway mark of the 3rd period, and the Wings were…Too content. If that makes any sense.
Moritz Seider and Nathan Legare got into it with 8:13 remaining, and both sat for 2 minutes for roughing, giving the teams 4-on-4 time;
Detroit regrettably seemed to lose momentum, and Lindstrom lost his stick, but Lucas Raymond and Sam Gagner were able to nurse the puck out of trouble…
Filip Hronek DID hit the goalpost as the teams returned to 5-on-5, however…
Veleno got a nice scoring chance on DeSmith as well…
And Moritz Seider and Gustav Lindstrom set up Joe Veleno for a rifle of a shot that ripped through a screen and past DeSmith with 4:32 remaining.
It’s been a nice game for Joe Veleno, who broke the 2-2 tie at 15:28 of the third. Gustav Lindstrom and Moritz Seider assisted. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/8JivvioMxI— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
JOE VELENO BLAST! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/6VvKSleGhi— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 8, 2021
Veleno scored from Lindstrom and Seider at 15:28 of the 3rd, giving Detroit a 3-2 lead.
Perhaps just as importantly, Brian Boyle got tagged for tripping Filip Hronek hard with 3:08 remaining, affording Detroit a clock-killing power play.
Detroit pretty much used the power play as a clock-killer, and while the Penguins did pull Casey DeSmith with about a minute remaining, Tyler Bertuzzi scored an empty-net goal to salt the game away.
It’s always nice to score, even in the preseason, but especially nice when it’s been a while since you’ve played in a game as it has been for Tyler Bertuzzi. He gets the empty-netter for the @DetroitRedWings. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/vIo7bzaRHq— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
Bertuzzi scored with 28.2 seconds remaining in the 3rd to make it 4-2.
Pius Suter spoke with John Keating after the game:
John Keating speaks with the game’s first goal-scorer, Pius Suter. He’s getting adjusted to the @DetroitRedWings and enjoying his reunion with his former Guelph teammates, Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/DPaPShBHHo— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 8, 2021
Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:
