The house doesn’t always win; Detroit Red Wings grab a win in Vegas

The Detroit Red Wings have snapped their three-game losing streak, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in regulation. The road trip out west ended on a high note as they were able to come away with as many points as games played throughout their trip.

It was a solid game for the Detroit Red Wings, who were able to funnel their frustrations from the shootout loss against Arizona into Thursday night’s contest. They came out strong and were able to do a lot of things right, including dominating the game in transition.

They killed it on zone entries and exiting their own zone. Their ability to break the puck out and get out of their defensive zone allowed them to create offense and get things going.

It seems the house does not always win, as the Red Wings flipped the odds on Vegas and emerged victorious as they head back home to Detroit.

Detroit Red Wings defy the odds and beat Vegas to cap the road trip.

1st Period

Early in the first, the Detroit Red Wings were able to get ahead. There was a turnover at the top of the Vegas zone; Dylan Larkin intercepted it and pivoted to get to open ice moving towards the net. Lucas Raymond took a great route to crash the net; Larkin sent a pass in front that Raymond was able to re-direct and put into the back of the net to put the team up less than five minutes into the first period.

Before the end of the first, Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was able to beat Ville Husso to tie things up at one. It was a bit of a soft goal as Husso was in position but just let it beat him glove side. Pietrangelo connected with a D-to-D pass and buried the slap shot from the point to produce a goal.

Vegas’s goal evened things up at one, and it remained that way into the first intermission. Detroit fell behind in the shots-on-goal category, but there were many puck battles and shifts in posessions. Shots were 10-8 in favor of Vegas after the first 20 minutes.

2nd Period

The Detroit Red Wings took control of the lead once again just under three minutes into the second frame. While on the power-play, they were able to convert and find the back of the net. After a loose puck emerged near the top of the zone, Filip Hronek was able to get a stick on it and direct it toward Oskar Sundqvist. He wound up for a one-timer, but he sold the shot and sent a firm pass across the ice. It was Dominik Kubalik who was the open man. He let one rip and ultimately found the back of the net for the Red Wings’ goal to make it 2-1 early in the second.

They did not stop there; it was Joe Veleno who was able to pot one and keep the scoring going. He would give the Red Wings a two-goal lead around the halfway point of this frame. After picking up a pass from Jordan Oesterle, Veleno used the open ice ahead to get closer in on Adin Hill before beating him high-blocker for the goal. It was a great shot from Veleno to beat Hill and pick up the tally.

It was a substantial period for the Red Wings. They came out and were able to get the offense churning. They had some turnovers, but nothing too costly. They got themselves out in front of Vegas and were able to hold the lead into the break.

3rd Period

It was a pretty quiet third period overall for the Detroit Red Wings. They held it down, playing conservatively for the most part. The Red Wings had a lot of dumping and chasing, using the glass as their friend. A weaker forecheck (as has been the case recently, but this was planned) allowed them to get it done.

They took scoring chances when they had them but forced Vegas to play full-ice hockey. They did a good job keeping the Golden Knights to the outside, limiting them to low-danger shots, and letting Husso do his job. Ultimately, he had a great third period and helped the Red Wings stay on top.

Late in the third period, with just 42 seconds left to play, Jack Eichel was looking for a cross-crease pass. He let one loose, and it deflected off William Karlsson and found its way to the back of the net for a goal.

It made it 3-2 in favor of the Red Wings, who were able to close out their victory as the rest of the clock winded down. They head back to Detroit, getting ready to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

One final note from the game was that forward Tyler Bertuzzi did not appear on the bench or on the ice for the entirety of the third period. Surely is something to monitor moving forward.