Welcome back to Red Wings Weekly! In this weekly column, we like to take a look at the Detroit Red Wings’ most-recent week of play, identify any players and/or trends that stood out, and then look ahead and find out what the next week may have in store for the team from Hockeytown. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section down below.
The first full week of the Red Wings’ season has officially come and gone, and it went…kind of great?! Welcome back to the Red Wings Weekly Roundup for the first edition of the 2022-23 season!
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Goals were scored, saves were made, and a certain eight-legged cephalopod made its first on-ice appearance of the season. The Red Wings earned points in each of their three opening-week games, and we got some great performances from a variety of new players. To put it shortly, the vibes were immaculate.
New Team, Who Dis?
10/14 vs. Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 Win
The Red Wings went into their season opener with a list of questions as long as Moritz Seider’s hair. Will new additions like Ben Chiarot, David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik fit in with this team and its systems? Will Ville Husso be able to replicate his breakout performance from last season? Will rookie sensation Elmer Söderblom prove that he belongs in the NHL?
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At least for this game, the answer to each of those questions was a resounding yes. The new-look Red Wings were dominant on Friday night, dominating a young Canadiens team all over the ice. Detroit had an incredible 25 shots in the first period alone! That’s more than they had in any one period in all of last season. They looked ready to run over the Habs and run up the score. However, Jake Allen had other plans.
The 32-year-old Allen made 34 stops in the first 40 minutes of the game, some of which were incredibly impressive, before the unthinkable happened. The tie was broken by none other than Elmer “The Towering Behemoth” Söderblom who was playing in his very first NHL game. It was a great moment and a perfect way to cap off an excellent performance by the Red Wings’ newest nickname line, “The Redwoods” (or “3XL” depending on your preference), who were straight-up dominant.
Detroit added two empty-net goals in the game’s final minute to clinch their first victory of the season, and the first for new head coach Derek Lalonde, as well as the first shutout of the year for Husso who made 29 saves. The Red Wings were barely recognizable on opening night, generating offense at will and showing real tenacity and effort on defense, a side-effect of the new mindset and systems installed by Lalonde.
Game Grade: A-
Ned Saves the Day (Night?)
10/15 @ New Jersey Devils, 5-2 Win
The only thing harder than spelling Alex Nedeljkovic’s last name, it seems, is scoring on him. It’s possible, but he really makes you work for it.
The Red Wings were heavily outplayed by the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, but a great performance by Nedeljkovic kept the team alive with 37 saves on 39 shots. The Devils controlled nearly 64% of the total scoring chances in the game and racked up an incredible 4.36 expected goals for (xGF) while stifling the Red Wings’ offense and limiting them to just 2.03 xGF.
However, expected goals don’t count in NHL games and scored goals do, which allowed Detroit to win their second straight game to start the season despite being thoroughly outplayed for most of the night. The biggest news aside from Ned’s great play was Tyler Bertuzzi leaving the game early after blocking a shot with his hand. The team has announced that Bert will be out for four to six weeks which will certainly shuffle up Lalonde’s plans in the top six moving forward.
Game Grade: B-
Oh Captain, My Captain
10/17 vs. Los Angeles Kings, 5-4 OTL
This was the first real test of the season for the Red Wings, a competitive Los Angeles Kings team that is looking to prove their run to the playoffs last year wasn’t a fluke. With a combination of veterans with championship experience, very young players who continue to develop, and recent acquisitions who look like difference-makers, the Kings are no joke.
Although the Red Wings appeared outmatched for large chunks of the game, they never gave up and found themselves fighting their way back from three separate deficits of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3. With about two minutes left in the third period and Detroit trailing by a goal, Husso made his way to the bench. Shortly after, Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson managed to corral a bouncing puck in the neutral zone. He then coasted his way into the Red Wings zone with a wide-open net staring him down and no defensemen in sight.
What’s that? Oh no, that’s Dylan Larkin’s music!!
The Red Wings captain put every ounce of effort he had left in the tank to catch up to Arvidsson, checking his stick and sending the puck into the corner, saving the game for Detroit, and doing so while not taking a penalty. The Red Wings then recovered the puck and made their way back up the ice where Oskar Sundqvist scored the game-tying goal with 41 seconds remaining on the clock. It was an incredible sequence that won’t be remembered quite as fondly as it deserves because of what came next.
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The Kings scored roughly a minute into overtime, ending the Red Wings’ comeback in a tough fashion. Filip Hronek was the man back defending a two-on-one when he blocked an attempted pass by Phillip Danault that deflected awkwardly off his skate, floating into the air in slow-mo and past Husso, ending the game. This was a solid game regardless of the outcome because the team showed that they won’t quit when games get tough, they’ll scratch and claw their way back if they have to…and they’ll probably have to a lot this season.
Game Grade: B+
3 Takeaways From Opening Week
1. The Redwoods Line Has a Chance to Make a Real Difference
The Red Wings rolled out a third line of Oskar Sundqvist, Michael Rasmussen and Elmer Söderblom which gained some league-wide attention as it became the tallest forward line in NHL history. However, these three giants aren’t playing together as a gimmick, they have been very successful in the first few games with an expected goals for percentage of 73% (according to Natural Stat Trick). They’ve only played around 23 minutes of five-one-five hockey together so far, but it’s beginning to look like Lalonde has solidified another forward line.
2. Tandem Time
It turns out that having two good goalies that you can rely on is better than just having one. Who knew?! Nedeljkovic and Husso combined for a .933 save percentage on the week with 1.3 goals saved above expected. That’s a tidy piece of work and it includes both Husso’s shutout on opening night and Ned’s excellent performance the following night. If this is what we can expect from Detroit’s goalie tandem, this team could realistically be in the playoff race for much of the season.
3. First Week Isn’t Likely to Be Sustainable
You’re probably thinking to yourself, “thanks Captain Obvious for telling us that the Red Wings probably won’t maintain their .833 points percentage for a full 82-game season,” but hear me out. After a dominant opening night showing against the Canadiens, the Red Wings looked largely outmatched against both the Devils and the Kings. Excellent goaltending and Larkin’s heroic effort salvaged three of four possible points which is great, but the team has work to do if they want to maintain this level of success.
3 Stars of the Week
3rd Star: Alex Nedeljkovic (.949 SV%, 1 Win)
2nd Star: Olli Määttä (1 goal, 3 assists)
1st Star: David Perron (3 goals, 1 assist)
What’s Next?
Friday, October 21 @ Chicago Blackhawks
Current Record: 1-2-0
One Strength: 11th best faceoff percentage in the league (52.8%)
One Weakness: Everything else
Key to Victory: Win the game on the powerplay. The Blackhawks’ penalty kill is around 63% so if Detroit can draw some penalties, they can set themselves up for a win via special teams.
Sunday, Oct. 23 vs. Anaheim Ducks
Current Record: 1-3-0
One Strength: fourth-best shooting percentage in the league (13%)
One Weakness: Most shots against allowed per game (42.5 shots/game)
Key to Victory: Lower the quality of their shots. The Ducks have only been getting 23 shots/game but have scored three goals/game as well. If the Red Wings’ defense can keep players like Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras to the outside, limiting the quality of their chances, Detroit’s quality goalie tandem should be able to handle the rest.
Tuesday, Oct. 25 vs. New Jersey Devils
Current Record: 1-2-0
One Strength: Fewest shot allowed per game (22.3 shots/game)
One Weakness: second-worst shooting percentage in the league (6.8%)
Key to Victory: Get shots on goal. Their goaltenders’ save percentage is sitting at .833% so high shot volume will likely translate to goals.
Thursday, Oct. 27 @ Boston Bruins
Current Record: 3-1-0
One Strength: Most goals per game (5.25/game) and best faceoff percentage (57.8%)
One Weakness: 22nd most goals allowed per game (3.75)
Key to Victory: Slow down their top guys. Even with Brad Marchand still on the sidelines recovering from offseason surgery, the Bruins’ top forwards have been among the league’s best in the first week or so of the regular season with David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron combining for an insane 14 points in the first four games of the season alone.
Red Wings Prospect to Watch
Sebastian Cossa has been bouncing back and forth between the Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL affiliates, a plan that seems to be designed to offer him the most possible ice time. He has played a single game in each league so far, winning both starts and looking excellent doing so.
Keep an eye on Cossa and which league he’s playing in because if he can keep it up he’ll earn a large role in the AHL sooner than later. He showed well at every opportunity he was given over the last month or two so I’d expect that momentum to carry him through to a solid rookie season as a pro.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Regardless of how small the sample size is, the Red Wings team that we saw this week was nearly unrecognizable from the squad we’ve seen over the last handful of years. There is a hunger and a hope in the eyes of the players and the fans for the first time in…far too long. A hope that this team won’t suck this year. A hope that the most painful years of the rebuild are truly behind us. A hope that, with a few more years, the core of this team could be something special.
Morale won’t always be as high as it is now, and the vibes will fail us, but that hope is something that fans will be able to cling to all year as they experience the highs and lows of a full 82-game season.
