The Detroit Red Wings were excellent in their big win over the Seattle Kraken, and it's just what the Wings needed: a solid game that gave them the edge in every facet. Detroit outshot Seattle 27 to 22 and outmuscled the Kraken. They won the face-off and turnover battles and set a blueprint for success in Tuesday's win.
They don't need to play stellar hockey game in and game out. Just skate out there, play a solid game, do your job, and almost every single time, you'll come away with the win. It's not hard, and the Wings are starting to find that groove after a very up-and-down first 16 games that saw them go 9-7.
The big win caused a shakeup in the Atlantic Division, catapulting the Red Wings to first place at the 20-game mark with 25 points. But they can't get too comfortable. Minus the Buffalo Sabres, every team in the Atlantic is no more than five points behind Detroit.
Nate Danielson picks up the First Star award
Don't you love to see this? Nate Danielson, in just his fifth career game, picking up the First Star? Danielson picked up his first of what will be many NHL goals at 2:04 in the second period off a deflection, and apples from none other than Mason Appleton and Axel Sandin-Pellikka. Danielson later assisted on Emmitt Finnie's fifth goal of the year on the power play at 10:56 in the third frame.
If you want more fun, Danielson didn't play long, with just 11:27 of total ice time and 18 short shifts. A few more games like what you saw on Tuesday, and Danielson will be a staple, routinely averaging 15 to 16 minutes per game.
Danielson was held scoreless during his first four games, but looked intriguing at times. He posted seven shots on goal in that span despite logging just 12:37 of average total ice time. Danielson also had two takeaways. Tuesday night's win was also the first in which he was on the ice for any goal, and he had an on-ice save percentage of 100 percent heading into the evening.
Did the Red Wings and Rangers' latest matchup inspire something?
If you tuned into the Red Wings-Rangers matchup at Madison Square Garden, you saw two teams wearing their "dark" jerseys. Twitter/X exploded during and after the game, so much that they were still talking about it on Tuesday.
Now, color vs. color matchups might be closer to becoming the norm than we think. And it's long overdue. Black and white television was a major reason why the NHL and other sports leagues needed one team wearing dark and the other light, but those days ended about five decades ago.
Keep an eye out, because it may not be the last time you see the Red Wings and an opponent both donning their colored jerseys. And let's hope it gets to the point that you only see the whites either during special events or if the Wings are playing another team (like the Chicago Blackhawks) that primarily wears red jerseys.