Did the Detroit Red Wings bounce back in Week 3?

Oct. 24, 2024
Game 7: Devils @ Red Wings
3-5 Red Wings Win
SOG: 40-20 Devils

Starting Goaltenders: Cam Talbot v Jacob Markström

The Detroit Red Wings came into this game coming off of a 1-0 win against the Islanders in what was probably the most boring game I've ever watched, looking to extend their win streak to three. The Devils on the other hand come into this game looking to not make their current losing streak three in a row. The Devils would also see the season debuts of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce, while the Red Wings would be running an 11/7 lineup with J.T. Compher out sick. Albert Johansson would be a healthy scratch once again.

The first period began with both teams flying. While there were three whistles in the first few minutes of the period, we went roughly seven minutes without a whistle. During that time, the Devils borderline dominated the Red Wings in their zone and got shot after shot. Immediately every Red Wings fan got bad flashbacks to the Islanders game when the Devils had doubled the Red Wings shots before the halfway point of the first period.

After a fairly weak slashing penalty on Mo Seider, the Devils would go to the power play. 15 seconds into the power play Nico Hischier would score after the refs ignored a blatant holding call on Ben Chiarot. After some solid back and forth and a failed power play from the Red Wings, they would finally get on the board with just under two minutes in the first period when Christian Fischer (1) would score off of a lucky bounce assisted by Andrew Copp (1) to tie the game at 1-1.

I hope you didn't leave to grab another beer because 37 seconds later Alex Debrincat (3) would steal the puck and snipe it from the slot giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. The Red Wings would hold this lead for the rest of the period and after a "too many men" penalty to the Devils at the end of the period, the Red Wings would go into the second period with not just the lead, but a power play as well.

The Red Wings would start the second period by failing to convert on the power play they received at the end of the first. The game would go back and forth until Dylan Larkin would get sent to the bad boy box for Elbowing Paul Cotter at 16:33 of the period. Erik Haula would end up tipping a rogue one-timer off a broken stick to tie the game at 2-2. About a minute later, the referees would call Patrick Kane on what is quite possibly the worst high-sticking call I have ever seen in my life. Thankfully the Red Wings were able to kill this penalty off and let them trot into the third period tied at 2-2.

The third period is where things got wild. It started much like the first two periods, with the Devils flying everywhere around the ice and getting some solid sustained pressure on Detroit while the Red Wings would occasionally break out and get one or two solid chances of their own. With a little under 11 minutes left in the third, Christian Fischer would lay a big hit on Brenden Dillon which would create a kerfuffle in the corner. Dillion would get up and immediately drop the gloves with Fischer.

Both players left the scrap with a bit of face leakage and would talk about what they planned on being for Halloween In the Sinners Coffin. Dillon would be assessed a second minor penalty for roughing giving the Red Wings a power play with half the period to go. Larkin (4) would tip the puck in front of the net off a beautiful play by Patrick Kane (3) and Lucas Raymond (5), giving the Red Wings a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes to go.

The lead would be short-lived however because, after a Delayed hooking penalty from Chiarot, a bit of a brabble broke out that saw Chiarot take Johnathan Kovacevic to the ground. The timeout pen is getting full as Chiarot, Raymond, Berggren, and Fischer all think about what they did wrong. The Devils would still get the power play and obviously, Nico Hischier would score tying the game at 3-3.

With 3:30 left in the game, Dawson Mercer would cross check Olli Maatta in the neck and get put in the corner for another Red Wings powerplay. Patrick Kane (2) would Snipe one from the top of the faceoff circles assisted by Lucas Raymond (6) and Alex DeBrincat (3) giving the Red Wings a 4-3 lead with three and a half minutes left in the game.

At 2:37, Jeff Petry would use the power of the force to make Paul Cotter fall on his face but unfortunately, the refs were also force-sensitive and caught on the Petry's tricks and gave him two minutes for tripping. Thankfully the Red Wings were able to kill off the penalty and with 12 seconds left, Michael Rasmussen (1) buried an empty net goal giving the Red Wings a 5-3 lead, while simultaneously burying Jack Hughes's dignity by not only letting Hughes bounce off him but also celebrating while staring into the soul of Hughes.

This game was far more entertaining to watch. Lots of physicality, and high-octane offense. Cam Talbot looked really good in net aside from the third Devils goal where he probably should made that stop. The Kasper line once again looked good as Both Berggren and Kasper would have some solid chances.

I'm glad to see that the top six seem to have some jump in their step again with Kane, Larkin, DeBrincat, and Raymond all notching points. Special teams continue to be a big problem for the team on both sides of the puck. Now if only we could get Johansson back in the lineup more consistently I think we could help fix one of those issues.