Goaltending Leads the Way in Red Wings’ 2-1 Victory

It was hard to say which Red Wings team was going to show up tonight after an emotional couple of days. Getting crushed by Florida the night before and the death of beloved staffer Sergei Tchekmarev surely weighed heavily on the Wings’ minds.

But they found a way to win. Led by goaltender Jonathan Bernier (save percentage of .974),  the Red Wings defense did what they needed to. Although they allowed 39 shots on goal, they blocked 17 shots, and made the defensive stops when it really mattered.

After a less than stellar start, defenseman Patrik Nemeth seemed to rejuvenate the team with an absolute snipe to the top right of the net.

In the best moment of the night, Mathias Brome, after nearly scoring seemingly every night, FINALLY found the back of the net. The relief was palpable, as Brome nearly knocked Larkin to the ground with his excitement.

Brome’s goal would end up being the game winner, as Bernier turned into a brick wall and shut down Florida the entirety of the third period.

This win was an emotional one. Following the final horn, Captain Dylan Larkin pointed to the sky, showing that the Wings didn’t just win this one for the team: they won it for Tchekmarev.

Detroit is back at it Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.

The goals

Blashill Post-Game Conference

Game Notes:

More from Octopus Thrower

• Detroit Red Wings forward Carter Mazur injured in Prospect Tournament
• Detroit Red Wings: What does Klim Kostin’s role look like in 2023-24?
• Detroit Red Wings: 3 players who will make biggest impact in first year
• The Detroit Red Wings need Andrew Copp to start fast in 2023-24
• Detroit Red Wings had a busy off-season; but was it enough?

• Larkin showed why he has the C on his chest tonight, leading the team after such a difficult past couple of days.
• BROOOOOOOOOOOOOMEEEEE
• The Red Wings had 2 power play chances tonight and, of course, they failed both. The team has now had 36 man advantages without anything to show for it.
• Things got chippy after a couple of hits on Filip Zadina and Larkin (Both left the game for a bit, but reentered later in the third). Anthony Mantha and Frans Nielsen (?!) both ended up tangling with Florida players, although a full blown fight never came to fruition.
• Danny DeKeyser was back in the lineup after a brief stint on waivers last week.
• Fans were frustrated with changes to the lines before the game. Zadina was knocked down to the second line, while a veteran, Helm, took his spot on the first.