RECAP: Red Wings pull away from Blackhawks, 6-1

DETROIT – Powered by a three-goal second period and an all-around solid effort, the Detroit Red Wings pulled away from the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-1, in the second half of a preseason back-to-back at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday night.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said while “it’s so hard to judge these games,” there are several positives Detroit will take away from its second straight preseason win.

“You see different lineups, like most teams will not bring such a strong lineup on the road, so it’s tough to judge,” Lalonde said. “You just want to judge yourself on yourself. And for the most part, I thought pretty good.”

The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 2:46 of the first period after Daniel Sprong scooped up a loose puck in the corner, went to the left face-off circle and beat Blackhawks goalie Jaxson Stauber. Prospect Nate Danielson and Jonatan Berggren each collected assists on Sprong’s second preseason goal.

Michael Rasmussen’s first goal of the game at 11:57 put Detroit ahead, 2-0. J.T. Compher got Olli Maatta’s cross-ice pass then moved it to Rasmussen, who wristed a shot from the high slot.

In the middle frame, prospect Elmer Soderblom, who was assisted by prospect Amadeus Lombardi, made it 3-0 at 3:24, and prospect Antti Tuomisto pushed Detroit’s lead to 4-0 at 4:52. Joe Veleno and prospect Marco Kasper collected the assists on Tuomisto’s first preseason tally.

Rasmussen found the back of the net again at 7:44. After David Perron passed to Compher below the goal line, he set up Rasmussen in the slot for a one-timer.

The Blackhawks got on the scoreboard just past the five-minute mark of the third, but Compher pulled one back for Detroit on a power play only 1:13 later for the 6-1 final.

Red Wings goalie James Reimer stopped all 12 shots he faced before being replaced in the second by goaltender Alex Lyon, who made 16 saves on 17 shots.

Detroit improved its preseason record to 3-1-0 (6 points), while Chicago moved to 1-1-1 (3 points).

"I think we're doing some good things," Compher said. "Coach has talked about process a lot. I feel that each day is continuing to build on that. Tonight was a good effort."

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will play three preseason road games in three days beginning Tuesday night against the Blackhawks at the United Center.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on Reimer and Lyon

“They’ve been consistent and have stopped the puck. I know it sounds basic, but they’ve looked good in doing it. Both goalies, at 2-0, made some really big saves. Even Alex, I gave him the option not go out to start the penalty kill. But he was already, in his words, ‘committed and focused.’ They did good.”

Lalonde on the potential of rostering three netminders

“With three goalies, you can manage. It’s the reality. We had to do it last year. I know sometimes there’s a bigger picture to it. I do think we want to be smart about the depth at the position, because it hurt us last year through injury and just some guys going through different parts of their game. That’s something Steve (Yzerman) and his group will evaluate throughout.”

Compher on comparing different systems he has learned

"(Detroit and Colorado) want to be aggressive. That's the league right now, is playing aggressive. There's different ways of doing that. I think that systems might be a little bit different, but overall the message is the same of being a team that skates, being on top of teams and not giving up odd-man rushes."