Red Wings: Lucas Raymond Scores First NHL Goal in 4-1 Win

Lucas Raymond scored his first NHL goal three games into his career as the Detroit Red Wings out-grinded the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-1 victory.

First Period

The first twenty minutes of the game were pretty uneventful, as both teams struggled to generate any sort of drive offensively. The first few minutes were a bit chippy, as Givani Smith got into a bit of a tussle at the front of the Blue Jacket’s net more than once.

After controlling the pace of play for the first half of the period, the Red Wings had a shot to break the tie with a man advantage. However, they struggled to gain any sort of offensive rhythm and failed to cash in.

Detroit’s first penalty came with just under three minutes left, but the penalty kill refused to let Columbus get comfortable. The two went into the locker room scoreless after 20 minutes.

Second Period

Detroit continued comfortably comfortable controlling pace of play to start the second. They were outshooting Columbus 23-10 when the first penalty of the period was called. The Blue Jackets had another chance to break the tie with a power play, but again, they failed to score.

Detroit had a great chance to score the first goal of the game after a couple of penalties gave them a 5-on-3 chance. A few miscues and poor shot choices doomed the two man advantage and the Red Wings couldn’t cash in on the golden opportunity.

Third Period

Just over two minutes into the third, Adam Erne was tripped and the Red Wings went to the man advantage. But the power play looked a lot like last year’s and the Wings failed to cash in on Columbus’ fourth penalty of the game.

It was a rookie that finally broke the stalemate between the teams. Lucas Raymond scored the first NHL game of his career, ripping a wrister past Joonas Korpisalo.

Tyler Bertuzzi tacked on another goal to the lead, sniping the top of the net with a pass from Dylan Larkin.

A roughing penalty on Vladislav Namestnikov gave Columbus a chance to battle their way back into the game. But the penalty kill came up big, stifling the man advantage and retaining the two goal lead. Minutes later, Bertuzzi was sent to the box for roughing after trying to get some retribution after a hit sent Raymond headfirst into the boards. The Blue Jackets managed to take advantage of this one, cutting the lead down to just a goal with just over seven minutes left in the third.

Namestnikov and Adam Erne sealed the game with a pair of empty-netters and Detroit skated away with a 4-1 victory over Columbus. The Red Wings are back home Thursday night, where they’ll take on the Calgary Flames.