The Detroit Red Wings won a hard-fought 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, assuaging (somewhat) their 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh on opening night.
But it was not an easy victory by any stretch of the imagination. Cam Talbot stopped 42 shots and faced 87 shot attempts–34 of which were blocked by Detroit…
And the Wings really nursed a 1-0 lead from the 1:02 mark of the 2nd period, when J.T. Compher scored, to the 6:35 mark of the 3rd, when Andrew Copp finally gave the Wings some breathing room with a 2-0 deflection on Juuse Saros. Captain Larkin wrapped things up with an empty-netter at 19:40 of the 3rd.
In the interim, Talbot made some spectacular stops, the Red Wings’ defense made some spectacular stops, and the Red Wings earned a “team victory” against a Predators team with the skill to out-star you and the grit to make you play a nasty, high-impact hockey game.
Regrettably, along the way in the high-impact variety, the Wings did lose Christian Fischer’s services to an upper-body injury, and we’ll see whether the Red Wings call up a forward, should Fischer miss any time.
The Predators’ media spent a significant amount of bandwidth wondering how a 37-year-old goaltender could wreck their Saturday night, but I did find a Fox Sports South .gif which summarizes the difficulty with which the Red Wings faced the game, especially from the Predators’ defense. One William Carrier laid out a surprisingly-uninjured Michael Rasmussen here, and this was the “flavor of the game” in terms of physicality:
Carzy. BOOM. @PredsNHL l #Preds pic.twitter.com/UaAo7PZlmJ
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) October 13, 2024
And at the other end of the ice, the buy-in was tremendous by the Wings’ defenders:
Moritz Seider with a big kick save. 🧱 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/7RqS3EOP7v
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) October 13, 2024
Moritz Seider had SEVEN hits, SEVEN blocks, a shot, three attempts, a giveaway and 2 takeaways in 25:47 played on Saturday night. He was not alone in the shot-blocking department, but his stand-out performance certainly led the way.
The Predators’ press’s takes on the game were limited as Nashville’s press corps didn’t travel to Detroit, but we can snicker at this one from the Tennessean’s Alex Daugherty:
Launching 42 shots on 37-year-old Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot should have been enough to get the job done. He’s a decent-enough goalie, but hardly a game changer in the NHL.
Except he was exactly that Saturday night.
Filip Forsberg had six shots. Steven Stamkos had five. Ryan O’Reilly had four. None of them could solve Talbot.
The Predators put up eight shots on three power play chances. Talbot stopped all of them.
Nashville was doing all the right things. It owned the puck after the Red Wings took a 1-0 lead early in the second period. And it was even better once the Red Wings took a 2-0 lead.
In fact, it took 31 blocked shots from Detroit’s defense to prevent Talbot from having a career night in goal — his career high for saves is 50, back on March 18, 2021.
Still, the trend is a good one for Nashville. Owning the puck is a huge part of winning games. It’s frustrating for attackers to fire shots on net and continually get turned away. But if the Predators average 40-plus shots on net moving forward, they will win more than they lose.
There’s no doubt about that, but not respecting one’s opponent is a recipe for disaster, I’ve found…
Anyway, the AP is going away from adding quotes to its recap, so we’ll have to settle for this…
Takeaways
Predators: They sent a lot of shots at Talbot but came away frustrated. Nashville, which lost three of its first four games last season, is 0-2.
Red Wings: The 37-year-old Talbot, playing for his eighth team, may have taken the early lead over Alex Lyon and Ville Husso in a three-way battle for the No. 1 goaltending spot. Talbot replaced Husso during the second period of Detroit’s opener against Pittsburgh after Husso allowed four goals.
Key moment
With Detroit leading 1-0, the Predators were awarded a power play in the final minute of the second period as Moritz Seider was penalized for tripping. Talbot robbed a lunging Jonathan Marchessault on a rebound attempt in the closing seconds of the period to keep the Red Wings on top.
Key stat
The Red Wings were not afraid to give up their bodies to keep Nashville off the boards. They blocked 31 shots, compared to 12 by the Predators.
And it’s NHL.com’s Dave Hogg who will give us the only quips from Predators coach Andrew Brunette in a recap which transitions our perspective from that of Nashville to those of the Red Wings’ players and coach:
“Talbot was great. We did enough to put some by him, but he was outstanding,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we let him see the puck a little too much.”
New Predators forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault came into the game with a combined 34 goals in 58 games against Detroit but couldn’t beat Talbot with any of their eight shots.
“We’ve added some really good scorers, and I think we are deferring too much to them at times,” Brunette said. “We’re trying to be cuter when we need to be harder, and as we all know in this league, it is usually harder that wins, not cuter.”
Talbot didn’t mind that the Predators “let him see” the puck on a regular basis:
“I will take that performance anytime,” Talbot said. “I got my feet wet in the second and third period of our first game, and I tried to carry that over to tonight. Our guys were diving in front of everything, which goalies appreciate more than anything.”
Talbot signed a two-year, $5 million contract ($2.5 million average annual value) with Detroit on July 1.
“That’s a pretty good team over there, I don’t think they will be shut out many times this season,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “It was a great defensive effort, starting with our goalie.”
J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit (1-1-0).
“Obviously, with the way we played defense tonight and the way [Talbot] played, we can get away with scoring two goals,” Copp said. “We know we can get goals — it is definitely going to be about the number we give up.”
Coach Lalonde felt that the Wings didn’t play that badly on Thursday, and that the team built off of the lessons learned from their 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh, as he told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
“In reality it’s probably four pretty good periods of the six we’ve played so far,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “I’m glad we got rewarded with it. Winning in this league is very hard. It can be very rewarding when it looks like that.”
With two games against the powerful New York Rangers upcoming (Monday in New York, Thursday at LCA) and a game Saturday in Nashville, the Wings didn’t want to start the season with two losses.
“You’d hope you have a sense of urgency anytime you lose early in the season,” Lalonde said. “It really gets magnified. We knew the start of this season was going to be challenging with the competition we’re playing. Facing 0-2 and having New York back-to-back, who is arguably the best team in the league, and this team isn’t too far off, there was a little extra sense of urgency in our game.”
Compher redirected Ben Chiarot’s shot past goaltender Juuse Saros at 1:02 of the second period. The play was reviewed — Compher’s stick was high on the deflection — but it was deemed a good goal.
Copp gave the Wings important cushion with his first goal at 6:35 of the third period. From near the goal line, Copp lifted the puck toward Saros, who was scrambling in his crease, and the puck snuck behind the goaltender. Larkin’s empty net goal clinched the outcome.
“It was a big win for us, big win especially with the two games coming up,” Copp said. “We have to get going right away, we can’t ease into the season.”
Coach Lalonde continued while speaking with Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…
“He’s pretty consistent,” Lalonde said. “I think if you can manage your game in front of him where you’re not making him move laterally, you’re seeing pucks, he’s going to give you a pretty solid effort. And I thought that was the case tonight. He made a couple spectacular saves moving east-west, but with an offensive team like that, you’re going to have it. But I think he did a really good job. He instilled a confidence in our group throughout and I think we responded well.”
He is the third Red Wings goalie over age 37, joining Ed Giacomin and Dominik Hasek, to record a shutout for the team.
“I would take that performance anytime,” Talbot said. “Not just the first game of the new team I got my feet wet last game in the second and third there, and just kind of tried to carry it over. Nashville is a heck of a hockey club. They added a lot of weapons this year, so we knew it was going to be a tough task. I was just trying to do my part.”
The Red Wings are carrying three goalies, and it will likely be a competition all season to be No. 1. Based on coaches liking hot goalies, it seems likely Talbot will play Monday against the New York Rangers.
Andrew Copp pointed out that Talbot didn’t win alone while speaking with Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff..
“We did a really good job of digging in on draws,” center Andrew Copp said. “I thought we got in shot lanes pretty well, a bunch of blocks. We cleared it when the puck was on our stick, but it was just kind of an intensity and a complete desire right from the get go.
“I think you saw that in the amount of blocked shots. You saw that in maybe a few more won battles, stick battles, ready to jump your check just a hair quicker. I think that desperation, that sense of urgency was really important and that ultimately probably that did it.”
JT Compher (second period) and Copp (third period) would score, with captain Dylan Larkin putting the dagger into an empty Nashville net.
“Three is going to win,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said of the club’s offensive output. “It should win you in this league. It gives you a chance to win in this league.”
Put simply, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted:
“I don’t think they had many odd-man rushes,” Copp said. “Talbs had a lot of work and made some incredible saves, but I think he saw most of them, hopefully. That timely save can be so important. It was a big night for us, big win.”
The Wings were credited with 31 blocked shots.
“As a goaltender you appreciate that more than anything,” Talbot said. “Those guys don’t have the padding that I do and they are putting their bodies on the line. There were some huge ones throughout the entire night, a lot on the PK, 6-on-5. They were diving in front of everything.”
Among St. James’ notes:
With Jeff Petry (upper body) unavailable, the Wings recalled Justin Holl to add a second-right shot defenseman besides Seider, and also inserted rookie Albert Johansson into the lineup. That meant Erik Gustafsson, signed on opening day for free agency for two years at $2 million per, was a healthy scratch. Gustafsson had a rough outing in the opener, but he wasn’t alone in that. Gustafsson was supposed to help ameliorate the loss of Shayne Gostisbehere by playing the point on the first man-advantage unit, but the power play’s ineffectiveness in the opener – it went 1-for-5, converting during a five-on-three — led the Wings to put Seider on the point on the first unit and give Chiarot a look at the point on the second unit.
The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood wondered aloud whether the Predators’ swing-for-the-fences free agency additions might eventually win out over the Red Wings’ more moderate free agent moves, but he did so while weaving in a recap as well:
“These guys don’t have the padding that I do, and they’re putting their bodies on the line,” Talbot said. “There were some huge ones throughout the entire night, a lot on the PK, 6-on-5. I mean, they were just diving in front of everything tonight. The dedication and sacrifice from the guys in front of me won the game tonight.”
These traits were talked about all summer, but they were absent in Thursday’s loss to Pittsburgh. But given a second chance to prove themselves, the Red Wings made amends in a much more convincing defensive performance.
Saturday night, the team that emptied the bank account in free agency hasn’t won a game. The team that added role players and looked for internal buy-in got its first win.
Does this prove Yzerman absolutely correct for holding back? Not yet. Detroit hasn’t topped three goals in an outing, aided by Dylan Larkin’s empty-netter to cap the 3-0 win. There are legitimate concerns for the even strength offense’s ability to replace the lost scoring from last year. And the consistency of Saturday’s defensive performance also hasn’t been shown yet. But two games in, this Red Wings team made good on a lot of the hope that it started the season with.
“The way we played defense tonight and the way that (Talbot) played, we can get away with just two (goals),” Copp said. “And it’s going to come. I think we got enough good players. We got, scoring up and down the lineup.”
And among The Athletic’s Max Bultman’s observations was the following about the recently-recalled Justin Holl and Albert Johansson:
“Really good,” Lalonde said. “Defended. And we need some simple defense, and that’s what he is. He’s a simple defender, he wins battles, he’s big, he’s hard to play against. He did a really good job for us.”
And his partner, Edvinsson, had a little bit of redemption as well after a few tough moments Thursday night. You can probably chalk those up to some overeagerness from the 21-year-old defenseman playing his first full season. Either way, he handled himself quite well Saturday and earned an assist with a nice play at the blue line to set up Lucas Raymond, before Raymond found Andrew Copp at the back door for a big goal to go up 2-0 in the third period.
Petry has been considered day to day, so we’ll see whether he’s good to go for Monday in New York. But Holl’s performance may have at least given the Red Wings something to think about.
And one more defensive performance of note, while we’re at it: Albert Johansson made his NHL debut Saturday night, coming into the lineup for Erik Gustafsson. It wasn’t a loud night for Johansson, who played 11:57, but he didn’t give much up and finished with the highest expected goals share (66.19 percent) of any Red Wings defenseman, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“Made some really simple, nice plays with the puck, was good defending,” Copp said. “As a forward, when you don’t notice a ‘D’ it’s probably a good thing. He was good back there, for sure.”
“He can move a puck, he’s got good hockey sense, he plays on his toes,” Lalonde added. “For the most part didn’t get himself in any bad situations. Playing against size is going to be a challenge for him in this league, and there’s not many (opponents) bigger than (Nashville) as a team, and he did a really good job with it. So that’s a really good first game for him, and a good sign for us.”
Update: Here are a few more quotes from DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills:
Lalonde on if Saturday’s win is the blueprint the club needs to play like to succeed
“I hope so. In reality, it’s probably four pretty good periods of the six we’ve played so far. I’m glad we got rewarded with it tonight. Winning in this league is very hard, but it can be very rewarding when it looks like that.”
Lalonde on what he likes about Talbot’s game
“Pretty consistent. If you can manage your game in front of him, where you’re not making him move laterally, you’re seeing pucks, he’s going to give you a pretty solid effort. I thought that was the case tonight. He made a couple spectacular saves moving east-west, against an offensive team like that you’re going to have it, but I think he did a really good job.”
Copp on what Detroit was able to do defensively on Saturday that it didn’t do on Thursday
“I think we were just a little bit tighter to our check. Really, the second and third periods weren’t very good. It was really kind of a five-minute span early in the second against Pittsburgh that we were loose in our D-zone and weren’t managing pucks really well. We did a pretty good job of that tonight. I don’t think they had many odd-man rushes. Talbs had a lot of work and made some incredible saves, but I think he saw most of them, hopefully.”
Talbot on seeing his Red Wings teammates block shots
“As a goaltender, you appreciate that more than anything. These guys don’t have the pads that I do, and they’re putting their bodies on the line. There were some huge ones throughout the entire night, a lot on the PK, 6-on-5. I mean, they were just diving in front of everything tonight. The dedication and sacrifice from the guys in front of me won the game tonight.”
Talbot on Detroit’s three goalies continuing to push each other
“That’s the only way you can look at it. That internal competition just drives everyone to be better day in and day out. We’re going to continue to push each other. We want the team to feel comfortable with whoever is in there. That starts in practice and off the ice, but I think between myself, Al and Huss, the biggest thing is the chemistry between us off the ice. There’s no bad blood there. We’re rooting for the next guy, whoever is in net. It’s a team game, so whoever is winning is going to go. That’s good for the group.”
Multimedia:
Highlights: Sportsnet posted a 10:21 highlight clip:
ESPN posted a 4:46 highlight clip:
And NHL.com posted a 9:46 highlight clip:
Post-game: I don’t like that Bally Sports is shrinking down its quips and clips from interviews down into “bite-sized” pieces. They should at least post entire interview clips online, if they’re going to abandon having a website or YouTube channel:
Following their 3-0 victory over Nashville, head coach Derek Lalonde praises Detroit's defensive effort along with the 40-save performance of Cam Talbot in his first Red Wings start.#LGRW I @CoorsLight pic.twitter.com/TH2i4lHJNb
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 13, 2024
The Red Wings did post a 12:06 clip of post-game remarks from Andrew Copp, Cam Talbot and coach Lalonde:
The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an abbreviated clip of Copp, Talbot and Lalonde as well:
Photos: The Free Press posted a 15-image gallery;
The Detroit News posted an 11-image gallery.
Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:
Perfect time to call-up Kasper.