It's been a long time coming for Marco Kasper, but he's finally looking more like the player Red Wings fans saw last year in his rookie season.
The young Austrian forward played a crucial role in the Red Wings' win over a young and energetic San Jose team boasting two of the best under-23 forwards in the NHL. He made a crucial assist on J.T. Compher's game-tying goal in the second period, later adding an empty-net goal in the third period to seal the 4-2 victory.
It's been a rollercoaster of a season for Kasper, playing in the top six, the middle six, and the bottom six,. Wings coach Todd McLellan has been trying to jumpstart him, as he's been redefining the meaning of "sophomore slump" for Red Wings fans. Against the Sharks Kasper was on a line with Compher as the center and Emmitt Finnie on the opposite wing, a look that came about with James van Riemsdyk and Lucas Raymond's move up to the top line.
The Red Wings opened up scoring with a power-play goal from Alex DeBrincat in the first. However, the team found itself down 2-1 in the second after Will Smith scored in his return from injury to tie things up and Collin Graf got the feed from Nick Leddy.
Kasper, who had his last assist during the Red Wings loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on New Years Day, managed to muscle his way down center ice and get the pass to Compher, who fired it past Askarov's shoulder a few minutes later to get the score even.
Third's the charm for Red Wings and Kasper
The Red Wings dominated the third period of play, helping McLellan to a victory over his former team with a goal from Dylan Larkin to get the Red Wings back ahead. Larkin has slowed down after being one of the top forwards in hockey for the first month of the season.
However, the Red Wings captain managed to get into the top 10 of Red Wings goal scorers all time with what would ultimately be the game-winning goal in the third period. Larkin managed just tuck the puck in front of Askarov's toe as he extended too far backwards into the net, breaking the tie.
Kasper sealed the game with his first goal since the end of October, putting Detroit up 4-2 with just under two minutes left to play. While the points have come few and far between for the young forward, he's been leading the Red Wings in hits for a while and has been playing an important role on the penalty kill.