The Red Wings didn’t make it easy on themselves Saturday night, but they found a way to leave with two points.
Lucas Raymond delivered the only goal in the shootout, and Detroit beat San Jose 4-3 after a late push forced overtime and then the extra session. Raymond still hasn’t scored in regulation this season, but he came through when the game was there to be decided.
Detroit had to survive an overtime Sharks power play to get to the shootout. San Jose finished 2-for-6 with the man advantage, while the Wings went 1-for-4.
Alex DeBrincat was the one who dragged Detroit into overtime in the first place. He tied the game at 18:27 of the third period with his fifth goal, flipping a bouncing puck past Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic after the Wings had pulled John Gibson, who finished with 32 saves.
That equalizer capped a comeback after San Jose had built a 3-1 lead. Ivar Stenberg put the Sharks ahead with a power play goal 2:48 into the third period, but Emmitt Finnie answered almost immediately, driving to the net and burying a pass from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard at the 5-minute mark for his third goal.
The Sharks had already regained control in the second period after Macklin Celebrini broke a 1-1 tie. His third goal came at 4:55, when William Wallinder’s attempted pass was picked off by Michael Kesserling along the boards, Kesserling fed Will Smith low, and Smith set up Celebrini for a blast from the slot. Celebrini finished with one goal and two assists.
Detroit opened the scoring in the first period on Justin Faulk’s power play goal, his second of the season. Michael Rasmussen provided the screen in front as Faulk lifted a shot from the high slot that got past Nedeljkovic at 12:45.
San Jose answered before the period was over. Celebrini set up Dmitry Orlov for a one-timer that slipped between Gibson and the post at 17:59, giving Orlov his first goal and pulling the Sharks even.
The Wings finished the home-heavy stretch of their schedule with a 3-3-1 record over seven of their first eight games at Little Caesars Arena. Their lone road game in that span was a shootout loss in Montreal. Detroit is now 3-3-2 with eight points.
In Other News...
Red Wings Prospect Update Puts Two Young Names In The Spotlight
Max Plantes season has hit a brief snag at a time when Detroit has every reason to keep close tabs on its prospects. The reigning Hobey Baker winner and Red Wings prospect is out with an upper-body injury, leaving his status in the week-to-week range while the organization waits for word on when he can get back on the ice.
There was still some good news in the Plante family pipeline, though, as younger brother Victor Plante, another Detroit 2026 draft pick, had a goal and two assists in Minnesota-Duluths 7-1 win over Minnesota, with older brother Zam adding two assists of his own for the Bulldogs. Elsewhere in the system, prospect Adam Levac is serving a four-game suspension in the Ontario Hockey League after a match penalty, another reminder that the Red Wings developmental watch list can change quickly from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Enter Sharks Matchup With One Lineup Issue Getting Urgent
The Red Wings are heading into their home meeting with the San Jose Sharks with the kind of lineup decision that can linger over a young season. Detroit has already had to juggle injuries and performance questions while sorting through its first seven games, and the coaching staff is still weighing how to keep the roster both competitive now and flexible later. Thats where the conversation around Carter Mazur has started to matter, because his usage has been limited and the team cannot treat every move as a simple paper transaction.
Mazur has appeared in only three of Detroits first seven games, which has added a little urgency to a decision the Red Wings would rather not rush. With the Sharks coming to town, the matchup offers another opportunity to evaluate the bottom of the lineup and the ripple effects of any change, especially when roster management is part of the calculus. For a team still trying to settle into the season, this is the kind of issue that can shape more than one night on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Lucas Raymond Is Facing An Early Red Wings Question Again
Lucas Raymond is still searching for his first goal of the season as the Red Wings turn from a win over the Philadelphia Flyers to a home date with the San Jose Sharks, and the early-season dry spell has become one of the quieter storylines hanging over Detroits strong start. For a player who has been central to what the Red Wings want to do offensively, the lack of a breakthrough has naturally drawn attention, even if the mood around him has not turned bleak.
Raymond has kept the right posture publicly, and both Alex DeBrincat and Todd McLellan have backed up the idea that the offense will come. McLellans read is that the winger is frustrated more than anything else, but still confident enough to shake it off, which is usually the kind of combination a team would rather see than panic this early in the year. The question now is less about whether Raymond will finish chances and more about when the first one finally opens the door. [Read more 🡒]