Red Wings Room: Detroit Dominates Alumni Game; Johansson’s First a Winner

There was a game within the game as the Detroit Red Wings were beating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Friday at Little Caesars Arena. In that game, the former Blackhawks suiting up for Detroit were dominating the ex-Wings playing for Chicago.

The final tally was 6-0.

Patrick Kane led the way. The longtime Blackhawks star drew assists on each of Detroit’s first three goals. On the first one, he set up former Chicago player Alex DeBrincat, a dynamic duo Chicago fans are used to seeing in combination.

Kane now has 11 points (4-7-11) during a six-game point streak.

18 for the Cat. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/II9BZCQWSv

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2025

DeBrincat and Kane were recording helpers on a Lucas Raymond goal. Kane and Eric Gustafsson, another former Hawks player, got apples on a goal by Andrew Copp. And we’re not even taking into account an assist by Justin Holl. The defenseman was a Chicago draft pick who would play in the club’s farm system.

Former Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek heroically kept the Blackhawks in the game until Detroit’s onslaught was finally able to overwhelm Chicago with three third-period goals. Another former Wing, Tyler Bertuzzi was held without a shot and wound up finishing the night a minus-1. Chicago captain Nick Foligno, son of former Red Wings forward Mike Foligno, was also held off the scoresheet.

Albert, Albert

Every NHLer remembers and cherishes their first goal, but few are as memorable as the one Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson was netting on Friday.

Pinching in from the point, the rookie took a cross-crease feed from Raymond and roofed it behind Mrazek.

ALBERT JOHANSSON FIRST NHL GOAL! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/D3xGhWflBD

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2025

“I will remember that one forever,” Johansson said. “And unreal pass by Lucas. So I say thank you.”

Raymond, though, was preferring to tip his cap toward his Swedish teammate.

“I just saw D activated back door,” Raymond said. “I didn’t know it was Albert and just tried to find him. So he did the work.

“Awesome moment.”

At the time, the goal put Detroit ahead 4-1. As Chicago rallied, Johansson would ultimately be getting credit for the game-winning goal.

Red Wings Play Penalty Free

While that’s one way to fix the Red Wings penalty kill. Stay out of the box.

Detroit wasn’t assessed a single penalty during Friday’s win. While going penalty-free is a rarity in an NHL game, the style the Red Wings are playijg under Todd McLellan – more puck possession, attacking with a shot-first mentality – is less prone to leading the team into committing infractions.

“We were able to suppress the number of times the puck got to Talbs (goalie Cam Talbot),” McLellan said. “Part of that was our checking skills. We used our legs really well. Got better as the night went on, I thought, and kept our sticks on the ice, skated when we needed to skate, managed the game fairly well.

“So we stayed out of the box. It was a good thing for us.”