Red Wings-Devils quick take: Out-shot, out-special-teamed, but Detroit defeated the Devils anyway

The Detroit Red Wings tried to sustain a 3-game winning streak on Thursday night, hosting the 5-3-and-1 New Jersey Devils as Detroit kicked off a slate of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 days and nights.

The Devils were slated to employ the services of both Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce as injury returnees on Thursday night, and they hoped to rebound from an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday;

The Red Wings had defeated the Predators and Islanders over the past week, so while the team’s 3-and-3 opening start wasn’t overwhelming, the Wings were hoping to hit their stride they closed out their October schedule with 3 of their 4 remaining games at home.

On Thursday night, the Red Wings may not have deserved to win, but they won nonetheless.

The Devils went 3-for-5 on their power play, scoring the game’s first goal and tying the game 2-2 and 3-3, but Detroit went 2-for-4 on its power play, Christian Fischer, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen (ENG) scored and Cam Talbot stopped 38 of 41 shots en route to a rousing 5-3 victory where the process mattered a little less than the result.

The Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena around 6:30 PM…

But FanDuel Sports Network Detroit’s Trevor Thompson reported that J.T. Compher was ill with the flu bug going around the Wings’ room, so…

So:

Meanwhile…

And the Wings tend to post their lineups and starters late:

The starters and lineups read as follows:

In the 1st period, the puck hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena at 7:09 PM, with Kasper winning the opening faceoff to Petry and Chiarot chipping the puck in behind Markstrom, who set up the Devils’ breakout, which went offside 18 seconds into the 1st period.

The Red Wings rotated their lines quickly, with Raymond, Larkin and DeBrincat taking to the ice, winning a faceoff off an icing, and then Bratt setting up Jack Hughes when Edvinsson fumbled the won faceoff (Seider bailed Edvinsson out to some extent);

Maatta and Holl generated the first shot of the night for the Red Wings at 1:27 of the 1st, via a wrist shot from Holl that was gobbled up by Markstrom;

Rasmussen, Copp and Fischer resumed their status as the Red Wings’ third line, and by the 3-minute mark, all three forward lines were able to cycle on and off the ice.

Marco Kasper got roughed up by Tatar at the Devils’ offensive blueline, and Siegenthaler blocked off a Kane chance at the end of a shift for #88;

Raymond almost set up Berggren for a breakaway;

Mercer went the other way, and Jack Hughes’ shot from the point was blocked off, but the Devils buzzed in the Wings’ zone, and they established possession and control, with Talbot making TWO big stops 4:23 into the 1st.

Patrick Kane slithered a shot that was tipped a little wide by Veleno, and then the Devils’ Curtis Lazar raced up the other way and Talbot made a good stop;

Hischier and Meier generated two good chances against the Larkin line and cycled hard in the offensive zone some seven minutes in, and Berggren fed Raymond, whose shot went high over Markstrom;

Rasmussen, Fischer and Copp battled the puck back to Petry, but his shot was blocked by Palat;

Again, the Devils were able to establish possession and control in the offensive zone pretty easily, and while Alex DeBrincat almost beat Markstrom with a sneaky shot, Detroit was dash-in-dash-out defensively, and the Devils were more dominant.

At the first TV timeout 8:59 into the 1st period, Marco Kasper and German-speaker Jonas Siegenthaler got into it a bit, and Ben Chiarot had to be held away from Siegenthaler as the Austrian Kasper and German Siegenthaler had a healthy chat.

At 9:01 of the 1st, the shots were 7-2 New Jersey, which was not ideal.

The game continued its physical bent as well as Lucas Raymond was punched up high to stop him from rushing past a Devils defender, sans call against…

10:15 into the 1st, Kane tried to softly pass a slot chance into Tarasenko, he was blocked off, and instead, Hughes, Hamilton and the Devils cycled into the Wings’ zone, and Seider and Edvinsson had to help Tarasenko, Kane and Kasper, as the Devils went 6-on-5 on a delayed penalty.

Haula was stifled by Talbot, Cotter, Hughes and Hamilton sent shots in and the Devils cycled and cycled well to keep play going for a good minute before the Red Wings were finally called for a penalty at 11:55 of the 1st, with Seider going off for a slash.

On the penalty-kill, Larkin, Raymond, Petry and Chiarot worked vs. Haula, Jesper Bratt fed Nico Hischier in the slot away from Chiarot and Petry, and Hischier scored the 1-0 goal through Talbot’s legs.

Hischier scored from Bratt at 12:11 to make it 1-0 New Jersey on the power play.

As play continued, the Red Wings really struggled to generate shots and to sustain zone time, and that was disappointing to watch, given that they managed to rope-a-dope their way to wins against the Predators and Islanders.

Larkin did feed DeBrincat back door, but Markstrom made a big glove stop to catch a piece of DeBrincat’s jam;

Paul Cotter was blockered away by Talbot, and Detroit struggled to get to center ice some 14:50 into the 1st, but Berggren, Tarsaenko and Kane cycled, and Tarasenko got pulled by Kovacevic and Tarasenko sold the call at 15:00 exactly.

Kovacevic sat for holding, but Detroit lost the opening deep zone faceoff, and Gustafsson, Larkin, Kane, Raymond and DeBrincat worked the perimeter, the Devils were without a stick as Dylan lost his, but Dawson Mercer chipped the puck down the ice and Detroit had to regroup.

Again, the Wings’ first PP unit generated some good cycling, and DeBrincat put the puck off Markstrom, the Red Wings retained the rebound and cycled some more, and Gustafsson fired a shot high…

Then DeBrincat was stifled by Markstrom in tight;

With 30 seconds remaining, the Red Wings changed their PP units, and Rasmussen, Kasper, Berggren, Seider and Tarasenko were stifled by Markstrom and the Devils, who killed the penalty.

The Devils raced back into the Wings’ zone, where Hughes and Palat connected for a scoring chance stifled by Talbot, when the Red Wings cleared the zone, the Devils repelled the Wings’ attack for the most part, BUT CHRISTIAN FISCHER JABBED HOME A REBOUND PAST MARKSTROM TO SCORE THE 1-1 GOAL.

Fischer scored from Copp at 18:09 to tie the game 1-1.

On the bump-up shift, DeBrincat stole a clearing attempt from a Devils defenseman, he skated into the Devils zone and fired an unassisted goal into the net behind Markstrom to make it 2-1 at 18:34.

DeBrincat scored the 2-1 goal at 18:34, unassisted.

The Devils raced back into the Wings’ zone on the bump-up shift and Hischier generated a fine scoring chance, stopped by Talbot;

Tarasenko, Copp and Fischer worked with Seider and Edvinsson to stifle the Devils for the remainder of the period and they were successful in doing so.

Detroit was awarded a power play at 20:00 of the 1st due to the Devils having too many players on the ice, so the PP began the 2nd period.

In the 2nd period, Tomas Tatar sat in the box as Detroit began the period with Kane, Gustafsson, Raymond, Larkin and DeBrincat, but the Devils were the team that generated a scoring chance as they clanged a puck off the goalpost on a 2-on-1 shorthanded. Dillon clanged a high shot off the post behind Talbot.

The second PP unit of Rasmussen, Berggren, Kasper, Tarasenko and Seider didn’t do much better, and the Devils escaped the penalty-kill unscathed.

When Tatar took to the ice, he helped generate a couple of scoring chances, though some of the shots were wide, and Palat sent a slinky little shot into Talbot’s glove.

Dylan Larkin got a 2-minute penalty for an accidental elbow to Paul Cotter at 2:27, and the Devils headed to the power play.

Edvinsson, Seider, Copp and Rasmussen worked on the PK, and Hischier hit the goalpost behind Talbot;

Copp could not clear the puck and the Devils cycled away, but Hughes fanned on a one-timer;

On the second PK unit, sadly, Erik Haula tipped a shot from a broken stick of Timo Meier, and the Devils did score their second PPG on their second PP.

Haula made it 2-2 at 4:59 from Meier and Luke Hughes.

The Devils continued to dominate in terms of shots and scoring chances, but Talbot was sharp and smart, and Kane was called for high-sticking at 5:54 of the 2nd, accidentally at that, and the Devils headed back to the power play.

Talbot made a good stop as Larkin, Raymond, Edvinsson and Seider worked together on the PK, Hischier and Noesen worked the puck deep and Talbot made a tremendous glove stop to stifle the Devils…

Dougie Hamilton missed a fine opportunity as the Wings’ 2nd PK unit of Kasper, Rasmussen, Holl and Chiarot worked together, and Talbot made a fine stop on Dougie Hamilton on Hamilton’s second opportunity.

Seider chipped the next faceoff win down the ice, Edvinsson stifled Mercer, Tatar cycled to Luke Hughes and to the slot and Copp blocked a shot out of play;

Detroit killed the penalty.

The Red Wings’ line of Kane, Larkin and Berggren generated a ton of pressure on the Devils together some 10:00 into the 2nd, and the Devils came right back and forced Talbot to make a big stop at 10:19 of the 2nd period, and we hit our first TV timeout.

The Devils led in shots 8-5 at the halfway point of the 2nd period, 23-13 overall.

Copp, Fischer and Rasmussen had a good shift in the Devils’ zone, but once again, New Jersey rushed the other way and fired a shot in on Talbot, who made his 22nd stop of the night at 11:03.

Within two minutes, Talbot had made two more stops, and a lazy poke check by Edvinsson yielded a bit of a messy play that Talbot had to clean up…

Kasper, Rasmussen and Berggren got their cycle going for a a bit, forcing Markstrom to make a good stop in tight;

Despite the Devils’ 26-14 shot advantage, Detroit was gaining some poise and confidence with the puck as the players’ chemistry continued to develop…

But Nico Hischier was a highlight reel machine as he generated a couple more shots on Talbot, the line of Berggren, Kasper and Veleno was hemmed in opposite Hischier, Tatar and Bastian, and Petry and Chiarot had to help the kids get out of trouble;

Alex DeBrincat generated another scoring chance on Markstrom as well, but he was stifled again.

Detroit persisted in terms of its attempts to disrupt the Devils’ offensive machine as the period progressed, and the Wings continued to switch up its forward units to keep the Devils on their toes, but the second period wound down without much going on save the Devils blazing into the Wings’ zone and regrouping and resetting.

The 2nd period expired with the Red Wings and Devils tied 2-2.

In the 3rd period, Larkin and Hischier drew in for the opening faceoff and Detroit won the draw, but were repelled by the Devils at center ice, the Wings had to regroup and reset in their own zone, and Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat tried to press the Devils’ defense before back-checking their way out of trouble in their own end.

A Jesper Bratt wraparound attempt was stifled by both Talbot and Kasper;

Talbot made a big stop on Jack Hughes as the Kasper line got hemmed into their own zone;

Off the back boards, Talbot was dumped in front, but managed to stop Stefan Noesen;

As the period progressed, Simon Edvinsson made a defensive mistake that nearly went in the net thanks to a Tomas Tatar steal, but his teammates bailed #77 out;

Larkin, DeBrincat and Kane tried to make some magic happen in the Devils’ zone, but they were stifled by the Devils’ defense;

More or less, Detroit was hanging on, if only barely, against the Devils’ relentless attack.

The first TV timeout hit with 12:56 remaining in regulation;

When play resumed, Dylan Larkin BLAZED into the Devils zone and chipped a drop pass through EVERYBODY out to center ice, illustrating how the Wings were bunched up and a little tight as a group.

Talbot made a good toe stop on Hischier with 12:00 remaining, and Detroit managed to stifle some Devils chances thereafter;

Christian Fischer hit a New Jersey Devils player and Brendan Dillon fought Christian Fischer for a lengthy period of time, after Fischer accidentally hit Dillon high into the corner boards.

Both players were given 5 minutes for fighting and Dillon got an extra 2 for roughing at 9:10, affording Detroit a power play.

Detroit won the faceoff, lost possession, Raymond flicked the puck around the back boards to Kane, to Gustafsson, Larkin looked for Kane and he walked the slot, Larkin fired a shot wide, Kane figured he’d toss one through the slot and DYLAN LARKIN SCORED THE 3-2 GOAL OFF A NICE TIP.

Detroit made it 3-2 on the power play. Dylan Larkin from Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond at 9:46 of the 3rd.

The Devils’ relentless offense of course came right back at the Red Wings, but the Wings did a good job of helping Talbot help himself;

After Ben Chiarot got penalized for hooking Hischier on a breakaway, a scrap arrived as Hischier started punching at Larkin and Raymond, and Chiarot decided to fight Kovacevic, yielding a penalty box full of Fischer, Raymond and Chiarot…

Chiarot got the extra penalty at 12:17, afforded via an extra penalty to Chiarot for hooking.

New Jersey headed to the PP and Copp, Rasmussen, Seider and Edvinsson could not prevent Nico Hischier from getting loose in the slot and sliding a Jack Hughes pass into the net.

Hischier scored from Jack Hughes and Hamilton to make it 3-3 at 11:41 of the 3rd.

As play continued, the Devils continued to attack, the Red Wings attempted to re-set the game and rearrange some Devils’ attempts to score a go-ahead goal, and Talbot made some big stops to keep the game even at 3-3.

Maatta helped Talbot stop a goal with about 5:15 remaining…

Talbot stopped a shot off the post with 4:31 remaining, out of the glove and off the post it went with Jack Hughes jabbing and trying to celebrate to make a goal happen…

In the final four minutes of play, both teams attempted to batten down the hatches and play simpler hockey, and Dawson Mercer high-sticked Olli Maatta in the throat and Mercer was caught. With 3:54 remaining, the Red Wings headed to the power play again.

Larkin, Raymond, DeBrincat, Gustafsson and Kane began the power play together, and they generated a shot right off the hop, but Gustafsson made a huge stop;

Raymond helped Larkin win the second faceoff, Kane fed Larkin for DeBrincat, off a skate, Kane walked slot and SCORED a shot that riffled over Markstrom’s pad and under his blocker.

Detroit took a 4-3 lead on the power play. Kane from Raymond and DeBrincat.

Bizarrely, Paul Cotter toe-picked with 2:37 left, and the ref saw red, so Jeff Petry sat for a trip that was not a trip.

Detroit blocked a couple of shots and fired the puck down the ice Copp, Rasmussen, Seider and Edvinsson worked the PK;

New Jersey set up and Detroit’s sea of legs and sticks kept the Devils to the perimeter, and Detroit killed the first minute of PP time;

Larkin, Raymond, Seider and Edvinsson worked the second PK unit, and the Devils pulled Markstrom with 1:00 remaining in regulation time;

Raymond cleared the puck to clear the zone and end the PK;

Rasmussen and Petry joined Copp as Seider and Edvinsson remained on the ice together, and Rasmussen scored to make it 5-3 as Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier tried to start fights as Rasmussen was bumped for daring to score.

Rasmussen scored at 19:48 from Edvinsson to make it 5-3.

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!

3 thoughts on “Red Wings-Devils quick take: Out-shot, out-special-teamed, but Detroit defeated the Devils anyway”

  1. I’m all for reviving the dormant blood rivalry with NJ. Mo getting testy for a bit made me smile, though I wish he had more help.
    It would be swell if the boys could sustain any offensive zone time, but a wins a win.

    Reply

  2. Wings played well for their roster. The dude with meter… duh, of course New Jersey would win most of the time. They have a better roster. Seems like hockey101 to me.

    Reply

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