Detroit came into Saturday night on a back-to-back and staring down a short break for the holiday. One of the biggest questions coming into the game was what goaltending would look like. Michael Hutchinson, who was just signed on emergency conditions, got the start and was hardly a weak spot for the Wings. Despite that, they couldn’t pull together a win.
1st Period
Patrick Kane continues to look like he hasn’t lost a step since hip resurfacing. It would be Kane to open the scoring on a sweet play from Alex DeBrincat and Moritz Seider:
Detroit would get a chance to build the lead when Curtis Lazar took a tripping penalty a couple of minutes before the 10-minute mark. They wouldn’t capitalize, and New Jersey answered shortly after:
Tied 1-1 after 20.
2nd Period
The middle frame was filled with penalties for Detroit. The Wings took four penalties and drew one. The penalty was strong and held the Devils off the score sheet. Enter Shayne Gostisbehere, who would pick up his seventh goal of the season right around the halfway point:
Going into the third period with a one-goal lead — what could go wrong, yanno?
3rd Period
Remember what I just said? Ha! Funny guy.
The third period wasn’t kind for Detroit. Timo Meier scored the game-tying goal a matter of minutes into the period, and it seemed like everyone knew where the game was going from there:
New Jersey would eventually plunge the dagger into Detroit’s holiday break thanks to a goal from Tyler Toffoli around the 12:45 mark of the third. The Wings tried to get something going with Hutchinson pulled for over two minutes, but the efforts fell flat and Detroit was served loss number eight in the month of December.
FINAL: 3-2, Devils
To make matters worse, the Wings lost both Jeff Petry and Christian Fischer on a busted play that ended in both players colliding. They would not return to the game, and Detroit now has more injury woes on its plate.
There are just a few games left of what has been a brutal month for the Detroit Red Wings. That includes an important match-up with Boston on New Year’s Eve. At this point, I’d like the Wings to limp out of December with as little injuries as possible and look to turn the page in 2024.
After the game, the team announced that Austin Czarnik and Simon Edvinsson are being sent back to Grand Rapids… For now.
