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The Detroit Red Wings kept their playoff hopes alive with one of their last home appearances of the season.
Hosting the similarly sagging Boston Bruins Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, the Wings came away with a 2-1 victory, winning for just the fourth time in 15 games. They've stayed in the race for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card berth because all the teams within a handful of points have struggled as much as the Wings to assert themselves.
The Wings (34-33-6) reached 74 points with just nine games to go in the season, with only three more at home. They still have four teams to climb over to reach a playoff spot.
Marco Kasper scored in the first period and Lucas Raymond in the second period. Cam Talbot made 21 saves.
MARCH SADNESS: Todd McLellan points to Red Wings' mental sagging for stretch run struggles
With Elmer Söderblom (undisclosed injury) still unavailable and the Wings having come away unsuccessful from their previous incarnations, the lines featured the most drastic changes yet in March. Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane were moved up to play on the first line with Dylan Larkin, while Kasper was assigned to center Raymond and Michael Rasmussen. The third line had J.T. Compher with Jonatan Berggren and Vladimir Tarasenko, and the fourth line had Tyler Motte with Austin Watson and Craig Smith.
DeBrincat, arguably the Wings' best player all season, gave another demonstration there's so much more to him than goals. Flattened by Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke on a play early in the first period. Larkin skated in and gave Peeke a couple of whacks before skating away and joining play. It was DeBrincat who really took offense, fronting Peeke and forcing a fight that DeBrincat, who gave up seven inches and 40 pounds to Peeke, won when Peeke landed on the ice.
The Wings were able to take a lead early in the second period, taking advantage of Boston's Nikita Zadorov's landing in the penalty box because of a late hit on Berggren in the final minute of the first period. DeBrincat had the puck behind the net and sent it out front to Larkin, who sent it to Moritz Seider at the blue line. He made a pass to Kane, who got the puck back to Seider. The sequence ended with Raymond one-timing the puck into Boston's net, but the Bruins answered with a power play goal of their own thanks to Morgan Geekie to make it a one-goal game soon after.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings score: Young scorers top Boston Bruins, 2-1
Continue reading...
Hosting the similarly sagging Boston Bruins Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, the Wings came away with a 2-1 victory, winning for just the fourth time in 15 games. They've stayed in the race for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card berth because all the teams within a handful of points have struggled as much as the Wings to assert themselves.
The Wings (34-33-6) reached 74 points with just nine games to go in the season, with only three more at home. They still have four teams to climb over to reach a playoff spot.
Marco Kasper scored in the first period and Lucas Raymond in the second period. Cam Talbot made 21 saves.
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MARCH SADNESS: Todd McLellan points to Red Wings' mental sagging for stretch run struggles
Rearrangements
With Elmer Söderblom (undisclosed injury) still unavailable and the Wings having come away unsuccessful from their previous incarnations, the lines featured the most drastic changes yet in March. Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane were moved up to play on the first line with Dylan Larkin, while Kasper was assigned to center Raymond and Michael Rasmussen. The third line had J.T. Compher with Jonatan Berggren and Vladimir Tarasenko, and the fourth line had Tyler Motte with Austin Watson and Craig Smith.
Cat claws
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DeBrincat, arguably the Wings' best player all season, gave another demonstration there's so much more to him than goals. Flattened by Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke on a play early in the first period. Larkin skated in and gave Peeke a couple of whacks before skating away and joining play. It was DeBrincat who really took offense, fronting Peeke and forcing a fight that DeBrincat, who gave up seven inches and 40 pounds to Peeke, won when Peeke landed on the ice.
Taking advantage
The Wings were able to take a lead early in the second period, taking advantage of Boston's Nikita Zadorov's landing in the penalty box because of a late hit on Berggren in the final minute of the first period. DeBrincat had the puck behind the net and sent it out front to Larkin, who sent it to Moritz Seider at the blue line. He made a pass to Kane, who got the puck back to Seider. The sequence ended with Raymond one-timing the puck into Boston's net, but the Bruins answered with a power play goal of their own thanks to Morgan Geekie to make it a one-goal game soon after.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings score: Young scorers top Boston Bruins, 2-1
Continue reading...
