The Red Wings hosted the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday evening in their 2nd meeting of the season so far. On the last meeting of these two teams, Detroit suffered a 5-3 loss on Carolina’s home ice, so the Red Wings were hungry to get their first win of the season over the Hurricanes.
1. Carter Rowney nets his 4th of the season. His 2nd goal in the last two games after coming back from a stint on injured reserve is something to celebrate. Rowney was able to slip the puck past Carolina’s goaltender and brought the Red Wings to a 1-1 tie partway through the 2nd period. Scoring this first goal put a major pep in the step of the Detroit offense and pushed them to keep looking for chances to get pucks in net and make well-executed passes.
2. Red Wings outshot Hurricanes throughout 60 minutes. In a game that was anticipated to be a rather brutal matchup, Detroit was holding their own by outshooting Carolina the entire game. The puck control, passing, and shot chances for the Red Wings were largely improved from those of the last couple of games where controlling the puck has proven to be an issue.
3. Red Wings struggling with Carolina goaltender Raanta. As mentioned, the Red Wings outshot the Carolina Hurricanes continually in this matchup (41-30 final SOG) but Antti Raanta was blocking some of the most well-placed shots that this team has made. Both goaltenders were causing headaches for the respective offensive lines yet there were just so many brilliant opportunities for Detroit to score that were shut down.
4. Ned with lots of stellar saves. After having a rough couple of games, it was great to see Alex Nedeljkovic looking confident between the pipes again. Lots of huge shot blocking sequences and some sprawling saves were crucial to keeping the Red Wings alive in this game. Nedeljkovic walked away from this contest against his former team with a whopping 27 saves and his first win in two games.
5. Michael Rasmussen continues his point streak by sneaking past the defense and going straight to goal. His 8th of the season and 2nd in the last two games came off of a well-placed pass from Jordan Oesterle. Rasmussen got behind the Carolina defense and was able to throw off the goalie with some slight foot movements, giving him the chance to get the puck right through the five-hole; bringing Detroit to a 2-1 lead.
6. Dylan Larkin ties it up 3-3 with three minutes remaining in the 3rd period. Carolina rallied back from being down 2-1 and the score was 3-2 CAR with just a few minutes remaining in regulation. Thankfully, captain Larkin was there to save the day and prove that his team is able to be tough competition for one of the top teams in the league.
7. Lucas Raymond brings home the win in overtime! Yet another memorable game for the rookie winger as he recorded his 2nd overtime game-winning goal of the season. Between the two rookies, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, half of the eight overtime goals this season have been scored by them. Both of which are tied for the most overtime goals as rookies in Red Wings History alongside Anthony Mantha- all of which have two overtime game winners.
8. Red Wings shatter the Hurricanes winning streak. Beating the #2 ranked team in the league is something for this Red Wings team to be proud of and doing so in overtime is all the more exciting. Entering this contest, the Hurricanes were on a five-game winning streak and were looking dangerous but this did not stop the Red Wings from playing their best game and ultimately executing this winning streak. The energy that the team and fans at LCA displayed was infectious and exhilarating- with no reasonable chance of making a playoff run this year, beating these highly ranked teams such as Carolina is one of the biggest thrills the team and fans alike will see.
To quote Alex Nedeljkovic in a post-game interview- “It was a good night. The crowd was bumping, and the guys played well in front of me.”
It could be argued that this game is one of the best games Detroit has played this season. Smart and well-placed shots on goal were taken (albeit to a strong goaltender) and the Red Wings were moving the puck cleanly from zone-to-zone throughout the game. A lot of major mistakes within past games were not prevalent last night, helping the Red Wings play the clean and strong game needed to win against these tougher opponents. The fight and hustle that this team displayed at LCA against the Hurricanes should set the stage for the upcoming Florida road trip against the Lightning and the Panthers and hopefully give Detroit some uphill momentum.