DeBrincat Delivering The Goods All Over The Ice For Red Wings

This time as the Detroit Red Wings were visiting the Windy City, Alex DeBrincat was the former Chicago player who was blowing by the Blackhawks.

A year ago, in his return to the United Center, former Blackhawks icon Patrick Kane was netting at overtime winner to punctuate the night. Tuesday, as the Red Wings were dumping the Blackhawks 4-1, DeBrincat, Kane’s linemate in Chicago and Detroit, was playing a starring role.

He would open the scoring with two seconds left in the first period. After Chicago tied it in the second frame, it was DeBrincat drawing the primary assist on captain Dylan Larkin’s eventual game winner.

The Cat beats the clock! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/E8CcIELn7D

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 7, 2024

What Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde is liking about DeBrincat’s game is also likely what you admire about the way he plays hockey.

“Finishing, which is good,” Lalonde said of DeBrincat’s efforts so far this season.

Through 12 games this season, DeBrincat’s account is showing six goals and five assists.

“Do you want a guy like that to feel good?” Lalonde asked rhetorically.

After what he was enduring during his first campaign with the Red Wings, the answer would be an emphatic yes.

In terms of offensive output, he virtually replicated his lone season in Ottawa (27 goals, 39 assists in 82 games) during his first season in Detroit (27-40 in 82 games). DeBrincat’s combined shooting percentage for those two seasons ran at 10.8%. That’s well below his career mark of 14.1%.

DeBrincat Ironing Out Misses

In his inaugural season in a Red Wings uniform, DeBrincat became the team’s unofficial metal detector. If the NHL kept official stats on most posts hit during a season, he would’ve been a contender for the title.

“He went through some of these stretches last year where the shot percentage was down, but he was getting looks,” Lalonde recalled. “Last year he was getting those situations where he was beating the goalie and it wasn’t going in.

“Literally he went through four or five posts, crossbars, posts.”

DeBrincat would endure goalless runs of 12, 10 and seven (twice) games in length. Lalonde succinctly recollected one night when there was a costly toll that was the result of DeBrincat’s frustration level.

“That cost the organization about $413 on the way into the tunnel as he shattered (his stick) screaming ‘finish, put the puck in the net,’” Lalonde said.

More Than Just Goals

When it comes to setting goals, what Lalonde is truly appreciating about DeBrincat’s game is that his personal goals are about more than getting goals.

“I give him a ton of credit,” Lalonde said. “He continues to grow. In his B game last year he was a plus(-one) player. The previous year he was coming off a minus-31 and I think he’s taking that as a challenge as we’re trying to grow as a team and organization.

“You’re going to be on that top line. You’re going to get tough matchups and you don’t want to just be a trade chances or you don’t want to be a guy that just outscores your mistakes. And I think he’s taken some pride in it, which is a good sign.”

Former Blackhawk Alex DeBrincat gave a puck to some Former Blackhawk Patrick Kane fans 🤝 pic.twitter.com/mLxDI4bCcu

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 7, 2024

The DeBrincat who wears No. 93 for the Red Wings is a different guy than the player who was suiting up in Chicago and Ottawa.

“Wall play. Getting above on plays. Winning battles,” Lalonde was listing as some of DeBrincat’s new attributes. “We’re asking our team to compete, have some attitude, a little extra effort.

“I think he’s taken a lot of pride on those type of things. Offensive guys, you want them to have a little instincts on the way they lean at times but not cheat. I think he’s been a little more responsible in how he anticipates some plays and it helps us along.

“Where we’re trying to get, if all have a little of that DNA it’s going to help us.”