The Detroit Red Wings did something they’ve rarely done in the past couple seasons: Look dangerous on the power play.
Their Monday contest against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena was only an exhibition game, but for a team looking for confidence, seeing the puck go in three times was a good boost.
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Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, recent first-round picks, were among those who converted in the 6-4 loss.
Seider and Raymond each had a goal and an assist. Seider is a lock to be in the opening night lineup, and Raymond is strengthening his case to be there, too.
The Wings faced a lineup that featured Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat and Tyler Johnson, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Dylan Larkin, Filip Zadina, Pius Suter, Bobby Ryan and Robby Fabbri were among as good a lineup as the Wings have dressed through five exhibition games.
The Wings fell behind, 3-0, in the first period, when poor defensive zone coverage led to goals by Tyler Johnson, Jake McCabe and Philipp Kurashev, but got back into it thanks to their power play.
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MacKenzie Entwistle had two goals and DeBrincat added an empty net goal.
Power party
Ryan strengthened his case for a contract with his second goal in three exhibition appearances (he also has a shootout goal, which doesn’t count as an individual stat). Ryan got the puck from Raymond and glided to the net and slipped the puck behind Fleury. Seider snapped a shot from the blue line at six minutes after Ryan’s goal, and Fabbri converted at 12:58.
Seider, Raymond impress
Seider’s poise was noticeable on his goal; he got the puck and timed his shot perfectly. He’s only 20 but it’s easy to tell he’s used to playing against men, having done so the past three seasons (in his native Germany, the AHL and Sweden). He has some defensive lapses here and there, but he looks like he’ll be a force on the back end. Raymond, drafted No. 4 in 2020, earned his second point when he snapped the puck from the right circle early in the third period. Raymond leads the Wings in exhibition scoring with two goals and four assists in three games.
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Still no Bertuzzi
Jeff Blashill said Tyler Bertuzzi, who underwent neck surgery in April and hasn’t played since January, is cleared to play, but he’s running out of warm-up games. He was scratched again Monday.
“He’s returning to play coming off major back surgery, there’s lots that go into that,” Blashill said. “Part of that is just getting your body ready. He hasn’t skated this hard in months. We’ll keep taking our time. Ultimately our goal is to have him ready for Game 1 against Tampa. He is cleared, but when you haven’t played in a long time, your hips feel different; when you have played in a long time, your groins feel different.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.