Red Wings-Blue Jackets wrap-up: Raymond’s first goal, Greiss help Red Wings overcome Korpisalo and Blue Jackets

The Detroit Red Wings out-shot, out-puck-possessed and out-played the Columbus Blue Jackets for the vast majority of Tuesday night’s 4-1 victory, but Joonas Korpisalo ensured that the Red Wings had to wait until the 3rd period to break through Columbus’ stalwart back-up goaltender.

Break through, the Red Wings did, and no goal was prettier than Lucas Raymond’s first NHL marker:

Raymond’s goal was the breakthrough marker some 6:17 into the 3rd; Tyler Bertuzzi’s 5th goal of the season was the actual game-winner, assisted by Larkin and Raymond, and Thomas Griess did have to make some big saves before and after Boone Jenner’s shutout-denting goal, but when the Blue Jackets pulled Korpisalo, the Wings scored a pair of empty-net markers, from Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Erne, and that was that.

Detroit ultimately out-shot Columbus 45-23, out-attempted Columbus 63-50, and this year’s Red Wings team was willing to out-wait Columbus as well, with patience, poise and resolve, and last year’s team was absent quite a bit of those qualities, giving Red Wings fans a lot of hope–though it’s far too early to make any snap judgments about this team’s long-term potential.

If tonight’s game is any indication as to how the regular season will progress, however, it will at least be entertaining, and the Red Wings’ fan base hasn’t been entertained by its hockey team in some time now.

Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen told the Associated Press that his team couldn’t find enough energy to beat Wings…

”There was a little bit of energy,” Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. ”But then we tried to force plays in the 6-on-5 (after pulling Korpisalo), and it just wasn’t a good game for us.”
Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Erne added empty-net goals in the final 1:14.
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin – back from his one-game suspension – cruised in on the right side and dropped a pass to Raymond for the first goal of the game. Larkin also assisted on Bertuzzi’s goal. Detroit had a 31-13 edge in shots through the first two periods but couldn’t score despite several good opportunities.
”They were way better and way hungrier than we were,” Larsen said. ”We chased the game all night.”
…
Detroit had a two-man advantage for 1:34 in the second, but didn’t take advantage until the third. Korpisalo came up big between the pipes, stopping 41 shots with a .953 save percentage.
”He was outstanding – the only reason we had a chance to be in that game or stay in that game,” Larsen said. ”He was our best player. It wasn’t even close.”

Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner and Korpisalo himself spoke with BlueJackets.com’s Jeff Svoboda…

In the end, he was victimzed by a pair of transition goals in the third period. Raymond had been denied multiple times on the night by Korpisalo but the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 draft got on the board with his first NHL goal when he scored on a rush, beating Korpisalo shortside from the left circle in the third period. Tyler Bertuzzi then doubled the advantage with a goal on an odd-man rush, coming in along the right side and snapping a shot over Korpisalo’s blocker.
They were good goals in tough situations, and Korpisalo’s teammates knew it, lauding him with praise after the game.
“He gave us a chance,” Jenner said. “You could see it all night. He made some huge saves and gave us a chance, but we weren’t good enough in front of him.”
Korpisalo still admitted he took little solace, though, as the loss was what he cared about most rather than any sort of individual success. But after watching from the bench the first two games, he did acknowledge that being on the ice was much rather where he’d want to be.
“It was fun to play hockey today, that’s for sure,” Korpisalo said with a smile.

While Larsen continued while speaking with NHL.com’s Dave Hogg…

“[Korpisalo] gave us a chance, but we just didn’t do enough to get loose pucks,” Jenner said. “We know they are a fast team, and we didn’t match their speed.”
The Red Wings failed to take advantage of a 96-second 5-on-3 power play late in the second period, managing two shots.
“That’s just not good enough,” [coach Jeff] Blashill said. “When you have a 5-on-3 for that much time, the only way you shouldn’t score is if the goalie is just unbelievable. We didn’t force [Korpisalo] to do that.”

But the Red Wings did break through:

Lucas Raymond scored his first NHL goal, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.
“Obviously, this is a great feeling,” said Raymond, a forward who played his third game after he was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. “You always want to get the first one out of the way, and I got to do it in a win.”
Thomas Greiss made 22 saves to win his second straight start for the Red Wings (2-0-1).
“He has been great for us,” Detroit forward Tyler Bertuzzi said. “He was the First Star on Saturday (when he made 40 saves in a 3-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks), and he made the big saves we needed tonight.”

Raymond also spoke with Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen about his goal…

“I had some looks tonight and feels great that one finally went in,” Raymond said.
The Swedish teenager fired the puck into a mail-slot sized hole on Jonas Korpisalo’s short side to give the Red Wings 1-0 lead at 6:17 of the third period. The game had been a defensive stalemate before then, particularly from the Red Wings’ side.
Later in the period, Raymond earned an assist with an outlet pass that sent Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi down the ice on the rush. Bertuzzi finished a Larkin pass for his fifth goal of the season.
“Those are a couple of real dynamic offensive plays,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said.
Raymond now has three points in his first three NHL games. He has looked comfortable playing on the top line with Larkin and Bertuzzi. The line has seven goals and the Red Wings are 2-0-1.
“The thing that (Raymond) does consistently is he plays a complete game,” Blashill said.

Raymond was complimentary toward his complementary linemates while speaking with the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

“They’re two incredible players, both on and off the ice, who help me a lot,” Raymond said. “It feels like we’re starting to connect and know each other out there. They’re great players and easy to play with.”
Coach Jeff Blashill formed the line during the exhibition season, after Jakub Vrana (shoulder surgery) was lost for four months, and the Larkin line has blended well.
“I like the dynamic between the three of them,” Blashill said. “Bert is real gritty and go gets the pucks and Larks has the speed and Lucas is a cerebral player. It’s a good combination between the three of them. We’ve had a strong four-line presence and we’ll need to do that moving forward.”
…
“It’s been amazing, the energy in the arena and then the energy in the group has been awesome,” Raymond said. “You can see on the ice, we play with energy and we stick up for each other and play hard. It’s fun to play.”
Tuesday’s victory continued a consistent thread regarding the Wings, as they’ve earned five of a possible six points on this homestand (2-0-1), ending Thursday against Calgary.
“Each night we’ve worked and competed,” Blashill said. “Everybody works, but we have to have a really strong work ethic and competitiveness in all the games. Those are two things that have really stood out.”

DetroitRedWings.com’s Brett McWethy brings us back to the beginning, and looks forward…

“It’s always good to get it, and get it out of the way,” Blashill said about Raymond’s first career goal. “He made a really good play on the other goal – the pass that he made. Those are a couple of really dynamic offensive plays. The one thing he does pretty consistently is he plays a complete game. What that does is earn trust, and if you earn trust, you get minutes.”
Columbus sliced its deficit in half, 2-1, at the 7:09 mark after a power-play goal from Boone Jenner. He received the puck from Jakub Voracek, who patiently backhanded the puck past Greiss.
The Red Wings put the game out of reach with a pair of empty netters in the final 1:14. Vladislav Namestnikov tallied the first after a patient play from Adam Erne, who was streaking up the left side of the ice and found Namestnikov in front of the Columbus defense. Namestnikov then returned the favor with just 9.9 seconds remaining, passing on another would-be goal by feeding the puck to Erne for his first tally of the season.
Thursday’s puck drop against Calgary is set for 7:30 p.m. from Little Caesars Arena. The Flames picked up their first point of the season, but fell in a 3-2 overtime decision against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

And, among Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen’s “Five Takeaways“…

The Red Wings have only played three games, but earning five out of the first six points is important for a team that really has no idea what it can do.
With Raymond and Seider on the team, this is the official start of the new beginning. They are Steve Yzerman’s initial first-round draft picks. They are both playing up to expectations. That is also important.
Yzerman has added most of the players on this team and for the first time the fans can see where the Red Wings are headed. A good start is not insignificant.

Multimedia:

Highlights: Sportsnet posted an 8:17 highlight clip:

NHL.com posted a 5:09 highlight clip…

And a 9-minute “condensed game”:

Update: AWood40 posted a 14-minute clip of highlights as well:

Post-game: The Blue Jackets’ YouTube channel posted clips of Joonas Korpisalo and Boone Jenner’s post-game remarks…

I had to dig a bit to find coach Brad Larsen’s remarks on Twitter, however:

Brad Larsen credits the Red Wings for being “way better, way hungrier” tonight.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/YeMseiRyNt
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) October 20, 2021