The Detroit Red Wings continued their January to remember with a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, courtesy of a four-point night by Lucas Raymond, a season-best effort by Marco Kasper and the first NHL goal in over two years by Elmer Soderblom.
After falling behind 2-0, the Red Wings rallied to cut the lead in half before the start of the second. They took control of the game courtesy of second-period goals by Alex DeBrincat and Soderblom, before closing the game out with a pair of Kasper third-period tallies, including an empty netter.
It was another impressive effort — not a dominant game, but one that felt in hand for the final 40 minutes — as Detroit improved to 11-4-1 under Todd McLellan. I’m sure it was a satisfying night for McLellan, who earned a win against a Kings team that he previously coached.
A resilient result
It wasn’t on the level of some late-game dramatics from last year, but the Red Wings battled back after spotting the Kings an unfortunate 2-0 first-period lead. There wasn’t much Cam Talbot could do on Kevin Fiala’s seeing-eye shot, fitting it just inside the post while Talbot battled to track it through four bodies in front, but the second goal was… woof.
Dylan Larkin cleanly won a faceoff to Moritz Seider, but the pass handcuffed him a bit. As he tried to drag it to safety behind his own net, the puck rolled off his stick. At the same time, Talbot was repositioning his leg, so the puck rolled past him and was kicked in by Talbot before anyone knew what happened. It was ugly.
It’s the kind of moment that can really stand out in a loss, especially when you fall behind with a self-induced wound like that. But Raymond scored within minutes to draw Detroit back within one, and its defense, and Talbot, were unblemished the rest of the way.
The kids are alright
The highlight is surely the continued ascension of Raymond, and this one will be included on an ever-growing list of games that he took over, but the top line was dangerous all night so credit should go to all three. Kasper made a subtle high-skill pass to Raymond on that first goal, winning a puck over two LA defenders and tapping it over to Raymond.
If that wasn’t the best example of Kasper’s game, then his first goal surely was, as he ripped a hard shot at the net and never stopped moving, diving in front of the crease to beat any defenders to it (and Larkin, who probably could have tapped it in, but take no chances in the NHL). We’ll be seeing many more plays like those.
Aside from those two, Simon Edvinsson continues to be excellent and Albert Johansson’s usage maintains its upward trajectory. He played a season-high 21:04 and earned an assist on Soderblom’s goal.
And at 31, he’s not a kid, but we discussed Dominik Shine in the game day updates post. He played 9:50 in his NHL debut and came as advertised — hard on pucks, played physically and showed responsibility as he attempts to earn this coaching staff’s trust. I’m not sure how long he stays up this stint, with Tarasenko, Kane and Compher all sidelined by what sounds like short-term injuries, but I’m sure we’ll see Shine around again.
Tip of the hat for Talbot
No goalie was taking hold of the net in the early part of the season, but McLellan has shown a comfort level with Talbot, who he previously coached in both Los Angeles and Edmonton. It’s hard to fault him on either goal against today, so coming off of a shutout, his confidence looks as high as it has at any point this season. He played all three games in this homestand, which Detroit swept and is 8-1 in the month of January.
Given that he’s 37 and has had a couple of minor injuries this season, I’m doubtful that Detroit is going to dramatically increase his workload, so we should still see plenty of Alex Lyon coming up. But if you had to name a starter, right now is as clear as it’s been at any point this season that Talbot is the guy. These things change quickly, though, as we’ve seen for the last several seasons.
Next up for the Red Wings is the Western Canada road trip (which again features Seattle). First up on that gauntlet are the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST.