The Detroit Red Wings retook the lead in the Atlantic following yet another road win, this time against the Calgary Flames. Alex DeBrincat got the party started in the first period with a goal just 72 seconds into the game, with helpers from Patrick Kane and Andrew Copp.
DeBrincat wasn't done, as he logged a helper alongside Kane on Axel Sandin-Pellikka's third goal of the year to put the Wings up 2-0. He scored another goal at 7:41 into the second period, again with an assist from Copp, to put the Wings up 3-0.
DeBrincat now has 16 goals and 34 points in 31 games, putting him on track for between 89 and 90 points and between 42 and 43 goals. He has turned into a surefire premier player in this league, and there's a good chance he's just now getting started with what is becoming routine, dominant performances.
John Gibson thrives in an encore performance
John Gibson may have allowed three goals, but that didn't come until the 8:02 mark of the third period when Joel Farabee scored a short-handed goal. The goal gave the Flames momentum, as Matt Coronato found twine at the 9:07 mark, and MacKenzie Weegar put the Flames within one at 14:40.
Still, Gibson shut opponents out for nearly five and a half periods, and he ended up making 34 saves on 37 shots on goal. Gibson now has 34-plus saves in three of his past four games, and a 0.919-plus save percentage in his last two.
It's still wishful thinking to say Gibson has finally turned a corner, but his play in December is night and day compared to what it was in November as we approach the middle of the month. Should Gibson keep this play up, the Wings will finally have much-needed stability in the net.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka is becoming one to watch
Axel Sandin-Pellikka was going to have growing pains, especially with little seasoning in North America. But he played well enough to where you had faith he could at least handle the NHL game.
In Wednesday night's win, he finished with one goal and a plus-2 rating across 19 shifts and 16:28 of total ice time. With that goal, Sandin-Pellikka is now on a four-game point streak. Overall, he has 11 points and three goals in 31 contests.
Those numbers won't win him the Calder Trophy, but Sandin-Pellikka's offensive prowess is slowly coming out of the woodwork. With the way his productivity has been trending, there is a good chance he will hit the half-point-per-game mark by the end of the season.
Other interesting Red Wings news
The Red Wings' high-end point-producers like Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and Lucas Raymond took center stage on Wednesday night. But Michael Coyle reminded us that when needed, the Wings' depth forwards have stepped up lately. If the top scorers are having a bad game, then James van Riemsdyk and Company can come to the rescue.
Leading up to Wednesday's game, I talked about John Gibson's shutout win over the Vancouver Canucks. It was his first shutout in nearly three years, and his 25th overall, making him just the third active American-born goaltender to hit the quarter century mark in shutouts.
And finally, Bob Heyrman offered his take on Marco Kasper's sophomore slump. Is it time to take drastic measures and reassign Kasper? Heyrman put together an interesting thought piece.
The Red Wings' road trip will continue on Thursday night, this time against an Edmonton Oilers team still searching for its soul. Edmonton is clinging to a wild card as of Thursday, but the defending Western Conference champions know they're capable of more. The Wings cannot take them lightly.