The Detroit Red Wings’ young core put on a show in Pittsburgh, and this one had plenty more bite than their preseason opener.
A night after being blanked in a shootout loss to Columbus, the Wings rolled into PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and beat a Penguins lineup featuring Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, 7-4. The goals came from all over, but the kids kept driving the bus.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was right in the middle of it with two goals. Axel Sandin-Pellikka added one, Nate Danielson picked up an assist and Anton Johansson turned in a four-assist night. Brandsegg-Nygard and Danielson are projected to be in the lineup when Detroit opens the regular season Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers, and Sandin-Pellikka also has a strong shot to be there.
Detroit also got a first look at newcomer Viktor Arvidsson, who skated on a line with Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie. The rest of the forward group included Mason Appleton, Sutter Muzzatti, Theo Rochette, Ondrej Becher, Wilmer Skoog, Noah Dower-Nilsson and Jesse Kiiskinen.
On defense, Ben Chiarot and Albert Johansson were paired together, with Todd McLellan considering that combination going forward. Justin Faulk, Sandin-Pellikka, Anton Johansson and William Wallinder also logged minutes on the blue line.
The Penguins struck first when Nick Robertson scored on a shorthanded chance at 7:19 of the opening period. Detroit answered 10 minutes later. Chiarot worked the puck down the right side to Danielson, who slipped a pass through the slot to Brandsegg-Nygard for a one-timer from the left circle that beat Arturs Silovs.
From there, the Red Wings’ attack kept coming in waves. Appleton made it 2-1 at 4:26 of the second period with a backhand finish off another Chiarot setup, with Anton Johansson getting the secondary assist. Then, just 31 seconds later, Sandin-Pellikka buried a one-timer off a feed from Arvidsson, with Finnie collecting the second assist on his first point of the preseason.
Pittsburgh cut it back to one when Rikard Rakell scored on a spin-around move near the crease at 12:22. But Detroit answered again in the third.
Brandsegg-Nygard struck on a power-play deflection early in the period, with Anton Johansson and Rochette setting it up, and Ondrej Becher later added a tip-in to push the Wings back up by two. Anton Johansson picked up his third assist on Becher’s goal.
Wilmer Skoog and Jesse Kiiskinen then scored about a minute apart past the halfway point of the third, stretching Detroit’s lead to 7-3 before Rutger McGroarty got one back with 2:13 left for the final margin.
Between the pipes, John Gibson played the first two periods and saw 12 shots in each frame, allowing one goal in each. Trey Augustine entered to start the third as planned and stopped six shots in 20 minutes, though Kaedan Korczak did beat him at 6:55 before Detroit’s late surge put the game out of reach.
The Wings are back at it Thursday at Little Caesars Arena against the Buffalo Sabres, then finish the preseason Saturday at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their regular-season opener comes Oct. 2 against the Rangers at LCA at 6:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV, with seven of their first eight games coming on home ice.
In Other News...
Red Wings Just Got An Early Injury Watch In Columbus
A preseason tuneup in Columbus brought an early injury note for a Blue Jackets defense group that could matter to the Red Wings once the games start counting. Dante Fabbro, projected to open the regular season on the third pairing, was knocked out of the game with an upper-body injury and did not return, adding a little uncertainty to a blue line that is still sorting itself out before opening night.
For Detroit, it is the sort of roster wrinkle worth watching because it can affect how Columbus lines up in division play. If Fabbro is sidelined, veteran Erik Gudbranson is the most likely option to step in, which would give the Blue Jackets a different look on the back end while they wait for more clarity on Fabbros status. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings May Have One Wild Shot To Fix Their Center Problem
Detroits search for help down the middle has already turned into one of the more interesting roster questions of the preseason, and one possible answer sits in the restricted free-agent market. The Red Wings have been casting around for ways to bolster their center depth, and the idea of taking a big swing on a young, high-end talent has come into view as the kind of aggressive move that can change the look of a lineup in a hurry.
The appeal is obvious: a player with top-line upside would immediately address a need that has lingered for Detroit, even if the path to getting him is loaded with risk and complications under the NHLs collective bargaining agreement. Any offer-sheet pursuit would be the sort of cap-and-picks gamble that forces a team to weigh the long-term cost against the chance to land a difference-making center now, which is why this kind of possibility tends to linger until the final moment before the window closes. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Got One Encouraging Sign In A Frustrating Debut
Detroit had one clear bright spot in a frustrating preseason opener, and it came from the newest face in net. Daniil Tarasov was sharp from the start against the Columbus Blue Jackets, stopping all 15 shots he faced in his first preseason game for the Red Wings. Michal Postava took over in the third period and overtime and added 10 more saves, giving Detroit a steady night in goal even as the rest of the game stayed stuck in a grind.
The problem for the Red Wings was that the scoreboard never moved their way. They could not solve Columbus in regulation, then came up empty in the shootout as the game slipped away in a 1-0 finish. For a team looking to set an early tone, the goaltending offered encouragement, but the lack of finishing left plenty of room for concern. [Read more 🡒]