The Detroit Red Wings came out against the Philadelphia Flyers looking to send a message. The Red Wings scored five goals early on and were able to prove a real point. They scored first, scored often, and scored again. It was 5-1 after 20 minutes, and the Red Wings were firing on all cylinders.
The Detroit Red Wings needed to come out and prove a point. A fast start would have served Detroit well, but the Red Wings needed to continue that beyond the first frame. But they collapsed a bit, letting the Flyers march right back into this one. After going up 5-1 after 20 minutes, they let the Flyers tie things up in the third period and eventually take the lead.
The Flyers had a 6-5 lead for a moment until Dylan Larkin was able to tie things up. The 6-6 game stuck until the game headed to overtime. The Red Wings had the best scoring chances in the 5-minute overtime period, but neither side was able to score. Things stayed tied 6-6, and it headed to a shootout.
Patrick Kane scored two goals in regulation, and then we were able to see him win the game. Neither side scored in the first round. Lucas Raymond scored for Detroit in Round 2, Bobby Brink missed, and then Kane sealed the deal for the Red Wings to capture the 7-6 victory on Friday night.
Detroit Red Wings salvaged two points in a shootout win over the Flyers.
There's a lot to unpack in this one. There's a lot of frustration with the fact that the Red Wings let the Flyers get back into this game. There's no excuse to let a team score four goals to climb back into a game that felt like the Red Wings had it wrapped up after 20 minutes of play.
The positives, though, are plentiful early on. In the first 20 minutes, they came out playing hard. They set the tone, overwhelming the Flyers and keeping play in the offensive zone. They created scoring chances and found ways to score, as evident by the 5-1 score through 20 minutes of play. Even in the defensive zone, things looked much better than they had been.
However, if you look at the last 40 minutes, things were not quite the same. The Red Wings' defense was looking lost at times once again. They were struggling to keep it together, and ultimately things faltered. It was some of the same problems the Red Wings have been showing in recent games.
In overtime, Detroit had the better scoring chances, in my opinion. Sure, the Flyers had a couple of chances that were a bit problematic for the Red Wings, but overall, Detroit was putting the pressure on Philadephia and Carter Hart. But the Red Wings got it done in the shootout.
But, trying to be positive at the end of the day, Detroit was able to salvage two points, which was better than they had been able to do in recent games. It was a nice change of pace.