Oct. 19, 2024
Game 5: Red Wings @ Predators
5-2 Red Wings Win
SOG: 24-39 Predators
Starting Goaltenders: Alex Lyon v Juuse Saros
How we're lining up. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/1d9ODvNmkj
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 19, 2024
The Detroit Red Wings took on the Nashville Predators in Nashville, with both teams hungry for a win. The Red Wings came into the game on a two-game losing streak, while the Predators came in with a four-game losing streak with zero wins on the season so far. We also got to see the season debut of Marco Kasper and the return of Jeff Petry. Tyler Motte was also out for this game due to injury. Johansson and Holl would both be scratched.
The first period set the tone for the entire game. Both teams came out with the intent to win. Marco Kasper would take the opening Faceoff and win it back to the D-pairing of Seider and Edvinsson. The game started with a fantastic back-and-fourth of puck possession between both teams. The stalemate was broken a bit under 10 minutes into the period when Luke Schenn scored his first of the season in his 1000th NHL game. The lead wouldn't last long, as Vladimir Tarasenko (2), assisted by Jonatan Berggren (1) and Marco Kasper (1), would score with 6:30 left in the period to tie the game at 1-1 and give Kasper his first NHL point.
The Red Wings didn't let off the gas in the second period (first time for everything, I guess) and would keep matching the Predators in nearly every facet of the game. The Red Wings would go on the power play, and after Saros slammed the Door on DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin (3) would score, assisted by Alex DeBrincat (2) and Patrick Kane (2) after some quick passing by Debrincat off his own rebound. The Preds would make a push during a 5-on-3 power play, but the Red Wings would ultimately make it out of the period with a 2-1 lead.
The Red Wings' third-period lead wouldn't last very long. Steven Stamkos would score his first of the season and first as a Nashville Predator, tying the game at 2-2. The Red Wings would make a push of their own and, off some good pressure from the line of Christian Fischer, Joe Veleno, and Andrew Copp, the Predators turned the puck over, which let Andrew Copp (2) score a bit of a greasy goal assisted by Joe Veleno (1) and Christian Fischer (1) which would ultimately be the game-winning goal. The Red Wings didn't leave it there, though; the Predators would end up pulling Saros with just under 3 minutes left in the game. Simon Edvinsson (1) would send the puck coast-to-coast to score on the empty net for his first of the season. The Predators would keep Saros pulled, allowing Andrew Copp (3) to score his second of the game, assisted by Michael Rasmussen (1). The Red Wings would win 5-3.
This was the perfect game to show what this team should be. The chemistry this team has on every line is palpable. Despite Lalonde breaking out the "Line Blender" to get the team going, Alex Lyon looked like the Alsex Lyon of last season before he got burned out and regressed to the mean. The defense looked far better this game, too. We got the Seider/Edvinsson pairing for the entire game and they proved that they are the future top defense pairing. Marco Kasper looked fantastic in his debut, crashing the net and winning board battles were good, but what I liked the most was he wasn't scared of playing hard against NHL vets. Gustafsson also seemed to step up his game, and while I still feel that Johansson should be in over him, there is no denying that he looked at minimum passable in this game and looked far better as the QB for the first power play unit.