Red Wings-Rangers Tweetcap: the Quick and the dead

The 9-and-5 Detroit Red Wings hoped to rebound from Tuesday’s loss to the Vegas Golden Knights by preying upon the struggling New York Rangers, whose 6-6-and-2 record included a 3-game-win-snapping 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Both teams had rested for three days, so neither team had an advantage in terms of rest, recuperation, or preparation for Friday night’s game.

At Little Caesars Arena, well…

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan doesn’t believe that the first game after a West Coast swing is a trap game, but in the Red Wings’ case, it’s still a trap game. Between Jonathan Quick’s bedeviling of the Red Wings, Artemi Panarin’s 3-point night and the Red Wings’ inability or unwillingness to play hard, fast, Red Wings hockey in front of a legion of alumni…

Detroit lost a 4-1 decision that was incredibly disappointing, and dropped the Wings to 9-and-6.

Will Cuylle opened the scoring only 6:46 into the 1st on a power play marker from Zibanejad and Panarin, and while J.T. Compher would score a glorious goal at 11:06 from Appleton and Copp to tie the game…

The Rangers scored 3 consecutive goals, at 4:52 (Noah Laba) of the 2nd period, and then 7:29 (Panarin) and 8:27 (Lafreniere) of the 3rd.

Patrick Kane’s inability to beat Quick and two Rangers defensemen when Quick went out to play the puck would loom large in the loss…

And the Wings just didn’t have the gas in the tank, the work ethic or the mental fortitude with which to out-skate a Rangers team that wins on the road and cannot win at home.

The Chicago Blackhawks come to town on Sunday, and if the Red Wings want to win the Blashill Reunion Game, they’re going to have to play a hell of a lot better and a hell of a lot smarter–and they’re going to have to take their opponent much more seriously.

Having dozens of alumni in the building with their Stanley Cup rings doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to win easy.

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Jonathan Quick led their respective teams out onto the ice at 6:30 PM…

The Rangers also had a special “rookie lap” for Jaroslav Chmelar:

The Rangers don’t post a lineup, so we’re going to go with the New York Post’s Mollie Walker for a summary thereof:

The Wings released their official lineup about 10 minutes before game time:

1ST PERIOD:

The teams dressed the following starters and lineups:

The Rangers came out with a heavy set of checks and a heavy forecheck, but Detroit wouldn’t stand for getting pushed around, and things got physical quickly.

New York had the edge in terms of puck possession and tempo of play early, so they controlled the puck and were playing a heavy brand of hockey, as demanded by coach Mike Sullivan…

PENALTY: At 6:28 of the 1st period, Andrew Copp tripped Johnny Brodzinski as he tried to tap a rebound in past Talbot, and while Copp prevented the goal against, he was penalized for his efforts.

GOAL: Mysteriously, the Red Wings’ penalty-killers backed in and let Mika Zibanejad send the puck across to Will Cuylle, who chipped the puck in and under Cam Talbot’s glove to make it 1-0 New York at 6:46.

New York 1, Detroit 0: Cuylle (3) from Zibanejad (3) and Panarin (6) at 6:46 1st period.

PENALTY: Adam Fox was called for holding at 7:21, affording Detroit its first power play.

On the power play, Moritz Seider lost control of the puck at the offensive blueline, and Northville’s Noah Laba nearly scored, but he fired the puck into Cam Talbot at one end…

And then Dylan Larkin nearly scored on Jonathan Quick, who was bailed out by Schneider.

GOAL: Andrew Copp cycled around the New York Rangers’ goal, fed Mason Appleton, and with 3 Rangers players below their goal line, J.T. Compher scored a glorious back-door goal on Jonathan Quick at 11:06:

New York 1, Detroit 1: Compher (3) from Appleton (4) and Copp (5) at 11:06 1st.

PENALTY: A few minutes later, at 15:46, Dylan Larkin was grabbed by Vladislav Gavrikov while pushing his way through the Rangers’ defense toward Jonathan Quick. Gavrikov sat for holding.

Detroit was unable to score on the power play, with their first unit checked and their new second unit looking…confused.

2ND PERIOD:

The Rangers continued to give the Wings some fits in the defensive zone, and the Wings were a little sloppy at times…

PENALTY: Albert Johansson was called for tripping at 2:39 of the 2nd period, affording the Rangers their second power play.

GOAL: After the power play ended, the Rangers got an odd bounce from Panarin to Lafreniere, he reversed to Laba as Chiarot could not tie up Laba’s stick, and Laba scored his 3rd of the season at 4:52 of the 2nd period.

New York 2, Detroit 1: Laba (3) from Lafreniere (6) and Panarin (7) at 4:52 2nd period.

Albert Johansson hit the goalpost just south of the 7-minute mark…

Regrettably, the Rangers were showing more grit and determination than the Red Wings, so as the alumni visited Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond, the current-day Red Wings were dogging it a bit.

Patrick Kane nearly beat Jonathan Quick by intercepting a pass as the Rangers’ goaltender wandered out of the net, but Schneider and Soucy, the Rangers’ defensemen, both checked Kane before he could stuff it into an empty net.

PENALTY: Will Borgen was called for hooking at 11:05, affording Detroit a crucial 3rd power play.

On the power play, J.T. Miller blasted a shot high and wide of Talbot shorthanded to open the proceedings, and the Red Wings got some tremendous chances with the top unit, but the revamped second unit was shaky, and the Red Wings surrendered some chances as well.

DETROIT GOT INCREDIBLY LUCKY when Ben Chiarot and Alex DeBrincat got back late, J.T. Miller brushed Cam Talbot, and as Axel Sandin Pellikka made contact with his goaltender, Will Cuylle fired a shot on goal that was not counted as the Rangers’ 3-1 goal. Detroit dodged a bullet.

PENALTY: Axel Sandin Pellikka was then called for cross-checking with 41 seconds left in the 2nd period.

3RD PERIOD:

The Red Wings began the 3rd period with 1:33 of power play time, and killing the penalty was essential.

Copp and Compher raced up 2-on-1 as well, and Compher shanked one off Quick’s tee-trap with about 50 left in the PK…

The Rangers hit the goalpost with approximately 14:30 remaining in the 3rd…

GOAL: Zibanejad was able to charge off the right goal line away from Travis Hamonic, who should have finished his check, and he sent a lateral pass to Artemi Panarin, who was able to flutter a shot through Albert Johansson, who was caught watching Zibanejad, and then Cam Talbot to make it 3-1 New York.

New York 3, Detroit 1: Panarin (3) from Zibanejad (4) and Raddysh (1) at 7:29 of the 3rd period.

GOAL: Alex Lafreniere was able to take a pass from defenseman Connor Sheary, race up the gut and score 5-hole on Cam Talbot at 8:27 of the 3rd.

New York 4, Detroit 1: Lafreniere (2) from Sheary (5) at 8:27 3rd period.

PENALTY: Alex Lafreniere sat at 8:39 of the 3rd for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Detroit needed to score.

Detroit did not score.

FIGHT: Jaroslav Chmelar and Travis Hamonic fought at 14:06 of the 3rd period, and it was quick and painless for both players.

STATISTICS: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:

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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!