Red Wings-Penguins quick take: Wings out-played heavily in opening loss to Pittsburgh

The Detroit Red Wings opened their 2024-2025 season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena, opening up a difficult stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of 5 nights.

Pittsburgh came into tonight’s game on the rebound from a 6-0 loss to the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh’s home opener, so the Penguins came into tonight’s game with a spoiler’s mentality.

Bluntly, Thursday’s game was a bit of a mess.

Despite the Red Wings facing a rookie goaltender making his first NHL start, at times they made Joel Blomqvist look like a brick wall at times…

While Ville Husso was pulled after giving up 3 goals on 7 2nd period shots and 4 on 14 overall, mostly because the defense in front of him was so poor, as Detroit turned a 1-1 after-the-1st-period tie into a 4-2 after-the-2nd deficit (thanks to 3 Penguins goals in 2:53)…

And, ultimately, a stupid penalty assessed to Simon Edvinsson afforded the Penguins an early-3rd-period power play to put the game away, and put it away, Erik Karlsson and then Kevin Hayes did (with an Alex DeBrincat power play goal sandwiched in between the 5-2 and 6-3 goals against).

Pittsburgh won 6-3, Detroit lost Jeff Petry to an upper-body injury, the Tigers also lost, and the combination of Detroit getting its ass handed to it and Detroit getting its ass handed to it in two sports had people pissy and angry.

Detroit must rebound against Steven Stamkos’ Nashville Predators on Saturday and the mighty New York Rangers on Monday.

Uphill, as always.

The Red Wings and Penguins headed out to the ice at 7:30 PM EDT, certainly with the Tigers on in the “clubhouse” for the Red Wings…

And the Penguins were to start rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist against Husso…

The Penguins’ lineup looked like this…

Bally Sports Detroit was affording Ken Daniels a little victory lap…

And the Wings were saying, “Hello”…

So we’ll head over to MLive’s Ansar Khan for the Wings’ predicted lineup:

Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond

Vladimir Tarasenko-J.T. Compher-Patrick Kane

Michael Rasmussen-Andrew Copp-Christian Fischer

Tyler Motte-Joe Veleno-Jonatan Berggren

Ben Chiarot-Moritz Seider

Simon Edvinsson-Jeff Petry

Olli Maatta-Erik Gustafsson

Ville Husso starting; Cam Talbot the back-up.

Scratches: Albert Johansson, Alex Lyon.

Starters and scratches:

Looks like the Red Wings are going to wait to do their lineups until they release their starting lineups:

In the 1st period, after a lengthy pregame ceremony to introduce the Red Wings’ coaches, support staff, and, ultimately, the players, the puck hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena at 8:12 PM.

Copp lost the draw to Crosby, Grzelcyk sent the puck into the Red Wings’ zone, and we were underway.

Detroit never really got the puck out of its own zone as Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat skated out to the middle of the ice, and Detroit just…looked out-of-sorts throughout the first minute or so of hockey.

Gustafsson fed Tarasenko for a shot that was blocked on a drop pass, and Crosby, Rackell and Beauvillier set up for a cycle that was negated by Fischer as the Wings rolled all 4 lines within 1:45…

And J.T. Compher got a good scoring chance that was checked by Rutger McGroaty…

Suddenly, the Red Wings created chaos in the Penguins’ zone, Rasmussen wrapped back, Seider dropped for Chiarot and the Penguins did an expert job of blocking and otherwise redirecting Detroit’s shots wide.

3 minutes in, the shots were 3-0 Detroit, however, and Pittsburgh’s “piss and vinegar” first shift appeared to have evaporated.

Off a fine shot block on Evgeni Malkin by Maatta, the Red Wings blazed up the ice, Lucas Raymond found Alex DeBrincat cross-ice and off a drop pass from Maatta, with Larkin driving the middle, Detroit made it 1-0 at 3:46.

The goal was DeBrincat from Raymond and Larkin at 3:46.

Pittsburgh got its first shot off at 4:41, and Husso made a fine stop, and the Penguins got off another shot that Husso made an authoritative stop upon as Pittsburgh attempted to cycle in the Wings’ zone, but Berggren, Veleno and Motte pushed the puck the other way, and Detroit was sealing the Pens off at center ice.

As per usual for the preseason, Rasmussen, Copp and Fischer set the physical tone, even against the Crosby line, and Fischer nearly set up DeBrincat for a second goal off a line change…

And Lars Eller high-sticked Moritz Seider after he didn’t like the way Seider sealed him into the boards, and Detroit headed to the power play at 8:24 of the 1st.

Detroit started the power play with Larkin, Kane, Raymond, Gustafsson and Compher, and Raymond almost scored off a pass from Larkin;

Detroit did a good job of cycling well and Kane reversed a pass from Larkin off a leg, Gustafsson and Raymond cycled, Gustafsson blasted a shot on Blomqvist, Kane set up for and from Gustafsson, the duo found Raymond and he was stoned by Blomqvist on a tremendous stop.

But Blomqvist didn’t hold the puck, so Detroit got a couple more shots off before Blomqvist sealed and the Pens came a pushing.

The second unit came out just short of 10 minutes into the 1st, and Tarasenko, Rasmussen, DeBrincat, Copp and Seider were unable to dent the Penguins’ goaltending.

The power play expired without a goal for–or a shorthanded goal against.

After a mostly-mid-period TV timeout, Detroit and Pittsburgh played pretty evenly, with the Pens getting away with some pushing, shoving, and interfering as their edge slowed down the Wings’ momentum and offensive attack.

Detroit settled down and blocked shots against the Pens’ best players, however, and as the 15-minute mark approached, Copp skated into a shot and was stopped by Blomqvist, Fischer was hacked down as he jabbed a puck wide of the net, and, at the other end of the ice, Crosby, Beauvillier and Rackell scored off Chiarot, with the puck deflecting off #8 as he scrambled behind Copp and Gustafsson to try and seal off the back door.

Beauvillier scored from Crosby and Puljujarvi at 15:02 to make it 1-1.

Thankfully, Kris Letang headed off for hooking at 17:01, and Detroit headed back to the power play, shaken but not stirred.

Detroit lost the opening faceoff after Larkin got tossed from the faceoff circle, and Gustafsson had to stand up on Cody Glass to prevent a shorthanded opportunity;

Detroit’s puck-handling was just…off…and the Pens were allowed to hook, hold and clutch and grab, so the PP had very little flow.

The second unit, with Michael Rasmussen as a net-front presence, almost got Alex DeBrincat a second goal off a fine pass from Tarasenko, but other than that, they did not challenge Blomqvist or anyone else.

The period ended with some Red Wings flourish, but not much else. 1-1 tie.

In the 2nd period, Detroit started the Copp line opposite Crosby & company, and, after a Penguins intentional offside, the gents got an offensive zone faceoff which was blundered, Karlsson and Crosby worked a drop pass to Rackell, and Husso made a tremendous stop–and a rebound stop on Crosby. Making it look easy, Husso.

As the Wings and Pens rolled their lines, Compher’s line worked opposite Malkin’s, and then the Veleno line worked vs. Malkin’s line, and some hooks and holds helped the Penguins avoid an icing, so Husso had to make a couple of good stops.

Pittsburgh was really finding some flow and momentum as the 2nd period hit the 3-minute mark, and Larkin’s line was sent out to steady the ship, but instead, Crosby beat Larkin to the faceoff, the Penguins’ D blasted a shot on Husso that had a rebound component off his toe, and the next moment, Anthony Beauvillier made it 2-1 as Simon Edvinsson didn’t tie up Beauvillier.

Beauvillier from Pettersson and Crosby. 2-1 at 2:55 2nd.

Worse, against the Compher line, Malkin walked past everyone, including Gustafsson and Maatta, and no one covered O’Connor, so suddenly it was 3-1 Pittsburgh at 3:53.

2 goals in 58 seconds. O’Connor from Malkin and Karlsson.

Detroit just looked awful defensively in the 2nd period, awful, giving Husso no help as he faced 6 shots in the first 4:49.

Worse, off a Karlsson flip pass and a cycle by the Penguins, Marcus Pettersson just flickered a high wrister at the net, and Husso missed it. It was time for Cam Talbot to come in as the Penguins led 4-1 at 5:28.

Pittsburgh scored 3 goals in 2:53.

Detroit really looked flat as the Penguins continued to rush the Wings’ zone with speed and poise, and Andrew Copp took a dumb penalty by cross-checking Beauvillier at 7:50 of the 2nd. Fischer could have been called for a rough as well.

On the penalty-kill, Talbot made a couple of good stops, and Detroit almost got a two-on-one where Motte and Rasmussen set each other up, but Crosby was back to deflect the lateral pass…

Pittsburgh really loaded up their PP units, which is to be expected, and Raymond worked on the 2nd PK and whiffled a shot that was blocked by Grzelcyk…

Talbot made another good stop at the end of the PP, and Detroit managed to prevent Puljujarvi from scoring as well.

And Cody Glass took a dumb penalty, cross-checking Seider in the back and jabbing Ben Chiarot in the face instead, yielding a high-sticking penalty at 10:28 of the 2nd.

On the power play, Larkin was held in the faceoff circle, Raymond was blocked along the boards, Pittsburgh fired a puck into the Red Wings’ bench to clear their zone, a puck went off Gustafsson’s skate…

Larkin fired a shot off Blomqvist’s shoulder, the Pens kept clearing the zone, and Detroit’s passes were “off.”

At even strength, however, Moritz Seider sent the puck to Tarasenko instead of DeBrincat, Tarasenko flittered a puck through a Michael Rasmussen screen, and it was 4-2 at 12:32.

But Pittsburgh managed to afford themselves a 5-2 goal as Bunting sent the puck off Petry’s stick to O’Connor…

Seider and Petry were stuck on the right side of the ice, Kane stood at the periphery of Detroit’s crease, and O’Connor made it 5-2 at 13:43.

Thankfully, the goal was waived off for a hand pass.

As the final 5 minutes of the 2nd period progressed, Detroit at least challenged the Pens and Blomqvist, but the Pens had the majority of the “touches” of the puck, and Detroit was just jittery.

Detroit was also without Jeff Petry, who was in the trainer’s room, with an upper-body injury.

In all honesty, Berggren, Motte and Veleno had the best shift of the first 17:15 of the 2nd period, and Talbot had to make a MASSIVE stop with 2:20 remaining as the Penguins got a bounce off the back boards, and O’Connor nearly scored his second goal of the period.

In the final minute-or-so of play, DeBrincat, Raymond and Larkin tried to make a difference, Seider and Rasmussen and Copp and Fischer joined the cause, Edvinsson helped out, and Fischer bounced a shot off Rasmussen’s feet; Seider and Edvinsson fired a shot wide, and Edvinsson was hooked and tripped…

And nothing was called. As per usual tonight.

In the 3rd period, well, it started with this:

Detroit started Seider and Chiarot on defense instead of Seider and Edvinsson, which was the late-2nd-period pairing…

Copp, Fischer and Rasmussen started up front, and they did not get scored on.

While the Penguins got away with a trip, and Simon Edvinsson got called for an “interference” call on Cody Glass at 54 seconds, mostly because Glass tripped Alex DeBrincat and went uncalled.

The Penguins looked to seal this one up, and instead, Motte made a good block, Chiarot and Seider worked the blueline, Fischer jabbed and poked, and…

Sadly, Erik Karlsson ripped a shot off a Red Wing (Ben Chiarot) and made it 5-2 at 1:42.

The power play goal read Karlsson from Letang and Malkin at 1:42 of the 3rd.

The game was pretty much over, and it was about building for Saturday’s challenge vs. the Predators from here on out.

I just hate typing that when there was over 17 minutes of play left. In f***ing October.

After Michael Bunting dove blatantly to try and draw a call on Ben Chiarot in the Wings’ zone, Detroit skated the other way, and Evgeni Malkin hacked the stick out of Vladimir Tarasenko’s hands at 6:27 of the 3rd. For some reason, Kris Letang sat instead, but you take your power plays where you can get them.

Noel Acciari then took a high-sticking penalty to afford Detroit 1;39 of a 5-on-3, hacking Larkin at 6:51…

And DeBrincat, Kane, Larkin, Gustafsson and Raymond set up DeBrincat for a shot that he blasted wide of the open net behind Blomqvist…

Kane fed Larkin and the puck was tipped away by a Penguin defender…

Kane was stifled twice…

Kane found Raymond to Gustafsson to Debrincat GOAL at 8:13.

Detroit remained on the power play as DeBrincat scored from Gustafsson and Raymond to make it 5-3.

The Penguins killed the rest of the power play against, and Detroit looked to attempt to rally in the 3rd period from a multi-goal deficit yet again…

But the clock raced down against the Red Wings, and the Pens were no slouches.

Sadly, Kevin Hayes won a board battle in the left side against Edvinsson, Raymond did not check Kevin Hayes and he chipped the puck off Gustafsson’s stick and high with 7:39 remaining.

Pittsburgh took a 6-3 lead at 12:21 from Cody Glass and Noel Acciari.

The Pens didn’t give up, either, with Bunting and Malkin nearly connecting for a 7-3 goal against Detroit with about 5:00 remaining…

(trust me, there was NOT MUCH HAPPENING between the Pens’ last goal and the Bunting chance)

At least Mickey Redmond said that there was frustration on the bench, in spades, throughout the 3rd, as Mickey had went down to the bench to take in the 3rd period.

DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 10: Detroit Red Wings Assistant Coach Alex Tanguay talks with the team during a timeout during the game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday October 10, 2024 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Lots of moments like the above.

There was a lot of Seider and Edvinsson in the final minutes of this one–despite Edvinsson having an awful game defensively–and half the fan base was on suicide watch by the end of the game, which was just stupid.

Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:

Published by

George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!