It seems like I was just talking about Red Wings players making history a few short weeks ago, right? Oh yeah, I was. That’s because the Wings recently met up with the Utah Hockey Club as the two teams battled it out for the first time ever.
That matchup occurred on March 6th, and the Red Wings lost the first of what will be many future matchups vs. Utah. But it was also a game of firsts and one that saw the following:
- Dylan Guenther score the first-ever goal against the Red Wings
- Dylan Larkin score the first-ever goal against Utah
- Karel Vejmelka record the first win from a Utah goalie
- Alex Lyon record the first loss to Utah
- Alex DeBrincat record the first penalty minutes
Yeah, a lot of history was made that night, but now, the season series shifts to Salt Lake City. So, while the firsts in history were recorded on March 6th, we now get to look at the firsts between the two teams in the Wasatch Range.
Which Red Wings player will score the first goal in Salt Lake City?
Honestly, I’m going out on a limb here and I’ll say someone we won’t expect. Not a star player or a top-six forward. Instead, I’m rolling with a lower-liner who doesn’t score much. What about Jonatan Berggren? I don’t know, I’ll just throw a name out there.
Regardless of which player scores that first goal, every one of them will be clamoring to find the net often enough to record a win. And it’s something the Red Wings desperately need as they’re steadily running out of chances with the 2024-25 season reaching its twilight phase.
That said, they’d probably be more interested in seeing a netminder snag the franchise’s first-ever win on a road trip to Utah’s state capital. Doing that could keep the Red Wings at least tentatively in the playoff hunt as they continue to hope the New York teams, the Montreal Canadiens, and Columbus Blue Jackets slip up or keep slipping up.
Red Wings better hope they get the W in grudge match against Utah
Teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and St. Louis Blues are on the near-future slate, and none of them, not even the Bruins, are teams I’d be willing to face right now. Winning against Utah would be a momentum-builder, but if you’re reading this article on Tuesday morning and the Wings lost, well, then it wouldn’t surprise me if a capital ‘E’ resided next to their name following that game against St. Louis.
So, while there is room for quite a few Red Wings players to make history in Monday night’s matchup, there’s still something bigger at stake here. But missing the playoffs isn’t the only mishap that should concern this hockey team; the Number 9 might be looming above them, signaling nine straight years without a playoff berth.
A lot of people say the Number 13 scares a lot of people, but for the Red Wings and every one of their fans out there, is anything more frightening than Number 9 at the moment? It would be hard to convince me otherwise.