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Detroit Red Wings notch first victory, knock off Carolina 4-2

By Nate Brown

Jan 16, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Bobby Ryan (54) celebrates after his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bronson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Bobby Ryan (54) celebrates after his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bronson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Red Wings certainly looked more alive in their second game, but it took some time to get going. After a scoreless first period, Bobby Ryan got Detroit on the board for the first time this season with his first goal. It came off a beautiful feed from Filip Zadina.


The Red Wings held a slim 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the third before the Hurricanes answered. But the newly minted captain banked one in just 18 seconds later. From there, the close checking and tight play of the first two periods gave way for a lot of end to end action. After a second goal by the Hurricanes, Carolina had a chance on the power play but the Wings snuffed it out by not allowing a single shot on goal. Detroit had a power play late in the third and capitalized seconds after it expired when Robby Fabbri slammed home a Zadina pass to make it 3-2. Larkin added an empty netter to put it away 4-2, giving the Red Wings their first victory of the season.

Four Final Thoughts: 

  • Maybe it’s because it’s early in the season after a long layoff but Anthony Mantha looks off. Lethargic and at times just making poor decisions. Mantha has always been one of my favorite players and I was very defensive of him when upper management criticized him publicly several years ago. Hopefully it’s not an injury he’s trying to play through.
  • When Dylan Larkin has open ice, he’s lethal. He pushed the play on his empty net goal and made a nice move before putting the game away. He is consistently one of the few Red Wings who carry into the zone and generate a scoring chance. More balance on the lines will help with Larkin getting more room…..which speaking of…
  • Filip Zadina, Robby Fabbri, and Bobby Ryan are fun to watch. There was a lot of talk about how Zadina had matured playing overseas and it showed tonight. He hounded the puck, forced turnovers, and had two beautiful assists.
  • In my preview, I talked about how the tandem of Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss would be a massive improvement this season. Thanks guys for making me look good. Bernier played well tonight, holding the Wings in during portions of the game where they looked flat or overmatched. In contrast to what we saw last season, the Red Wing offense scored timely goals to reward him for the effort.

It was a fun game to watch. The Red Wings take on Columbus next on Monday for late morning matchup.

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