Rookies Help Spark Red Wings Shootout Win in Edmonton

The Red Wings started the first game of their four game road trip in Edmonton, facing a returning Stuart Skinner and Connor McDavid in his second game back from suspension. However, a strong game in net from Alex Lyon and shootout goals from Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond helped the Red Wings to beat the Oilers 3-2.

Don’t tell them the odds

The Oilers started the scoring halfway through the first period on the power play. Leon Draisatl got one past Alex Lyon, marking the former third overall pick 35th of the season. Edmonton’s  Jeff Skinner would strike next, taking the opportunity after a bad bounce kept the puck out of Lyon’s glove and the netminder out of position. At the halfway point of the game, the Red Wings were being outshot 23:8. Detroit didn’t help themselves by getting three penalties within the first 25 minutes of the game.

“Honestly it started off on kind of a bad note there in the first. But feels good keeping the win streak alive.” Said Alex Lyon in a postgame interview with FanDuel Sports Network’s Trevor Thompson.

As Kevin Allen wrote earlier, the Red Wings’ playoff hopes may very well rest on their PK in the 24-25 season.

Edmonton had three of their own penalties, including one in overtime. None of them resulted in goals for the Red Wings, who had been scoring on 37% of their power plays under Coach McLellan.

Rookies help turnaround

However, after a sloppy first period and a half, the Red Wings started heating up thanks to their third line. Michael Rasmussen tipped in a shot from Jonatan Berggren that got Detroit within one almost exactly halfway through the second period. Two minutes later Marco Kasper banked a pass off the boards from the Detroit end to Larkin at the Edmonton blue line. From there, Larkin won the foot race and got the edge on Skinner to tie the game up at 2. The young forwards have been very productive in the last month. Kasper has recently been promoted to the top line and has 6 points in as many games.

While Simon Edvinsson and Elmer Soderblom both have 20+ games prior to this season, the massive swedes are certainly making an impact. Soderblom has been making the most of his call up. The 6’8″ forward’s impressive reach allowed him to force a couple turnovers on the Oilers. That includes the one that led to Detroit’s first goal. Edvinsson has had a standout first full time season as well on the blue line. Through 46 games, he has 19 pts (4 goals, 15 assists) and a +12 rating.

Side notes

-The Red Wings got a small surprise at the beginning of the third period when someone threw an octopus on the ice. Tonight’s game was in Edmonton. Hopefully it was a local octopus.

-Alex Lyon had the most saves of his career tonight with 45. Lyon came into the game having lost his previous 2 and made the most of it.

-Danny DeKeyser debuted on the play-by-play on the local broadcast.