The Detroit Red Wings have been looking for secondary scoring all year and they received it from Vladislav Namestnikov on Tuesday night, as the Red Wings defeated the high flying Oilers 4-2.
The Red Wings held Connor McDavid to only two shots and one goal in just over 25 minutes of playing time.
Here are the observations from an important two points for the Red Wings.
#1: Vladislav Namestnikov scored the first two goals of the game for the Red Wings. Namestnikov now has seven goals in 14 games and is providing the much needed secondary scoring that was hoped for after he was signed last October. Namestnikov is an UFA at the end of the season and General Manger Steve Yzerman now appears to have an additional trade chip if he wants to move him at the trade deadline.
#2: Michael Rasmussen must be reading his press clippings. Virtually every news outlet in Detroit have been hard on Rasmussen because of his inability to be a significant contributor on the Red Wings roster. Last night, Rasmussen chipped in with two primary assists, was +2 on the night, had two hits and one takeaway in 15 minutes of ice time.
#3: Dylan Larkin stole the puck from Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead 14 minutes into the second period. The goal was Larkin’s first after a three game absence for personal reasons. Larkin played over 19 minutes and is starting to look like his old self after a rather uneventful evening on Sunday against Vegas.
#4: Alex Nedeljkovic is turning out to be another excellent addition to the Red Wings. The 25-year-old goaltender made 31 saves on the night. Nedeljkovic now has a 3-2-2 record, 2.89 GAA, and .914 SV% on the season.
#5: Moritz Seider scores again. Seider scored an empty net goal (his 2nd in three games) to seal the victory for the Red Wings. Seider played over 19 minutes, was +2, had three shots on goal, and two hits on the night. Seider continues to be used in all situations and has been a terrific addition to the Red Wings defense this season.
#6: Leddy and Hronek were excellent. The defense pairing of Nick Leddy and Filip Hronek were exceptional all night long. The pair played over 23 hard minutes against the Oilers top line. Hronek was especially good defensively as he had five blocked shots on the night.
#7: Special teams were the key. The Detroit PK held the Oilers to 0/2 on the night. Going into the game, the Oilers had an unbelievable success rate of 50%. Keeping the Oilers off the scoresheet and limiting the Oilers to only two power plays helped the Red Wings improve to a 7-5-2 record to start the season.
#8: Three wins in a row. The Red Wings have now won three games in a row and sit second in the Atlantic Division. With home games against Washington on Thursday and Montreal on Saturday, Detroit can continue to move up the league standings and, fans and media can start to talk about playoff possibilities as this team continues to jell into an exciting team to follow.