8 Observations from the Red Wings 2-1 Victory over the Islanders

The Detroit Red Wings were trying to break a three-game losing streak against an Islanders squad missing some key players.

Here are 8 observations following Detroit’s:

1: So flip a coin: Is Filip Zadina or Michael Rasmussen wearing the bigger bullseye for some in the fanbase right now? Albeit for different reasons, a quick glance of the Twitter timeline sees many opinions on the issue. Funnier, both were on the same line, giving fans much to talk about.

I wrote about how I think Zadina’s struggles are more within and will see some improvement in time. Rasmussen is a trickier case, but in the game both made very good defensive plays that turned into chances. They just couldn’t finish on their respective play. But for those looking for progress, there were signs of it tonight, especially for Rasmussen, who has struggled through stretches this season.

2. When Rasmussen potted the goal on a two-on-one break that involved Zadina to his left, it was an interesting sequence to watch. Rasmussen had this very methodic, almost slow-motion shot that found its way through and into the net. Every Wings fan figured he would pass it to Zadina, but credit to Rasmussen for keeping his head up, picking his spot, and burying it. Zadina celebrated the goal as if he scored it, which was also cool to see. Maybe that good fortune will rub off on him now.

3: Zadina showed again, later in the second, what he does bring to the team. He may not have gotten a goal, but his hard work on the puck not only kept. a scoring chance alive, but ended up drawing a penalty when his stick was slashed out of his hand. Detroit would score on the power play, taking the 1-0 lead.

4. Dylan Larkin got his 11th goal of the season on that powerplay, giving him the team lead and keeping his 1.3 Goals per 60 rate strong. Larkin is scoring at his highest rate of his career, and has seen a significant jump from the last two seasons.

He was due for a bounce back season and if he continues at this pace, it will certainly quiet any lingering doubts about the captain’s performance.

5. It’s amazing how re-inserting Marc Staal and Gustav Lindstrom gave the back end of the team far more stability. Lindstrom is turning into one of the team’s nicest surprises and best picks of the Ken Holland era.

6. Alex Nedeljkovic continues to put on quite the display for the Red Wings, coming up with  some big saves when Detroit needs them, especially late in the second where he batted a 3-on-1 chance over the net. It was unfortunate he couldn’t get the shutout but once again, he was there to make one more big save at time expired.

7. Tyler Bertuzzi hasn’t scored in his last seven games. Some of the in and out of the lineup certainly hasn’t given him a lot of stability. Despite that drought, he still has nine goals on the season.

8. Man. Danny DeKeyser and that turnover at the end of the game. It even got a response from AT&T on Twitter.