DETROIT, MI—It’s not often building a win streak raises more questions than it answers, but on their way to a 5-3 home victory over the New Jersey Devils Thursday evening, the Detroit Red Wings once again spent far too long in their own end, produced too few chances of their own, and once again found a way to win despite it all. On Tuesday on Long Island, that was a matter of desperate defending to cling to a narrow early lead. On Thursday, it was a combination of emotion and opportunism that won the day for the Red Wings.
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What is almost amazing about Detroit’s victory is how little time they looked formidable on the road to victory. The first two goals—one from Christian Fischer, the next from Alex DeBrincat—came in a 25-second volley at the end of a first period in which New Jersey established a base camp in the Red Wing end of the rink to the tune of a 15-8 advantage in shots. The next two were split across 58 seconds of power play time about six minutes apart in the third period. The clincher was an empty netter with 12 seconds left. In all the moments between, it seemed almost inevitable that the Devils would run away with the result, but sometimes it keeps on raining and the levee never breaks.
The overall run of play shows a continuation of same struggles the Red Wings faced against the Islanders. Over the last six periods, Detroit has now been out-shot a combined 69-31. The Red Wings have looked disjoined in their breakouts, and, especially Thursday, perpetually a step late to loose pucks and rebounds. When combined, those two factors contributed to extended Devils stays in the offensive zone, a favor Detroit appeared unable to return. And yet, as proved the case against the Islanders, none of it mattered: Not the zone time, not the shots, not a penalty kill that continues to flounder.
The game swung on what looked an innocuous enough hit midway through the third. Fischer finished a check on New Jersey defenseman Brendan Dillon in the corner. Dillon took exception. The two dropped the gloves and exchanged furious haymakers, before making their way, both bloodied, to their respective penalty boxes where they continued to exchange words. The officials assessed Dillon an extra minor for roughing.
Before the ensuing power play began, the mood inside Little Caesars Arena shifted, with half-hearted, arrhythmic ‘Jared Goff’ chants replaced by genuine enthusiasm and seats vacated to cheer on the man advantage. 36 seconds later, the Red Wings had the lead when Patrick Kane sent a shot-pass from the point to Dylan Larkin at the door step, who re-directed the feed past Jacob Markstrom. “I was hoping that it went low glove there, and it went high blocker,” said a smiling and sheepish Larkin after the game. Like everything else that didn’t go according to plan for the Red Wings Tuesday, it made no difference.
As if to ensure the emotional jolt of Fischer’s scrap and the go-ahead goal didn’t fade away, Ben Chiarot dropped Johnathan Kovacevic not quite two minutes after Larkin’s strike, after a post-whistle skirmish kept on escalating until Chiarot raised the intensity to a level no one else could or would counter. This time, it was New Jersey’s turn to capitalize on the power play (Chiarot was going to the box anyway for a hook before the fracas sparked up), but the Red Wings had one more punch left in them.
With Dawson Mercer in the box, Detroit re-took the lead for good with three minutes and 32 seconds to play. For this goal, Kane—again orchestrating from the power play point—opted for a simple approach, skating straight into the heart of the Devils’ penalty kill and firing a shot, which found its way home straight through Markstrom’s blocker.
That point position was an unusual one for Kane on the power play, but it proved a productive one. “Whenever he has the puck, you just kinda find a spot to get open, and he’s gonna get it to you,” said DeBrincat after the game of his long-time teammate’s work up top on the man advantage. “Him playing that spot for two of the goals is pretty rare, but it worked today.” “I think he’s gonna be wanting to play that spot a little bit more often,” DeBrincat concluded with a smile. “I think he was screaming that on the bench.”
Three minutes and 20 seconds after Kane restored the lead, Michael Rasmussen put a bow on the victory with an empty-net goal, steam-rolling Jack Hughes as he tucked home the goal to kick off one last altercation. It was an appropriate conclusion to the evening: chaotic but ultimately triumphant, the final tableau presenting Rasmussen as a boxer staring down an opponent he’d just knocked out.
When asked about the role of emotion in the victory at the post-game press conference, Larkin replied, “It was everything tonight…Guys like Fisch and Benny just dragging us into the fight, and we needed that…Those guys really [dragged] us into the battle and we stuck together and didn’t quit.”
There are clearly areas of Detroit’s game that require correction. The penalty kill is an obvious one after the Devils scored thrice on the power play. Finding ways to kill plays and exit the defensive zone more efficiently is another. An improvement in sustained attacking pressure would also seem essential. And yet, on Thursday, all that really mattered was more rudimentary than zone time or shots on goal. The fights from Fischer and Chiarot galvanized the Red Wings, and once more, they managed to make the very most of their chances, while Cam Talbot helped keep them afloat with 37 stops. It was a far cry from dominance, but once again, it was enough.
A week ago, Detroit was 1-3-0, one more bad loss away from crisis. Tonight, the Red Wings will go to bed at 4-3-0 and with claim to a playoff spot. The performances haven’t changed much, but the results have, and having now earned a sigh of relief, Detroit’s next challenge is to sustain the momentum.
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