Team Red defeats Team White, 4-2, in 2022 Red & White Scrimmage

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A standing-room-only crowd turned out Sunday afternoon to watch Team Red defeat Team White, 4-2, in the Detroit Red Wings' annual Red & White Game at Centre Ice Arena.

The intraquad scrimmage, which consisted of two 25-minute periods, was the first taste of true game action for the Red Wings.

"I thought structurally some things we've worked on, whether it was the neutral zone or our D-zone, there was conscious effort to execute," Lalonde said. "I think they did a good job with that."

The scoring began with 4:17 remaining in the first period when Dylan Larkin gathered the puck in the left faceoff circle and sent a backhanded shot past Alex Nedeljkovic to put Team White ahead, 1-0.
After Simon Edvinsson was called for high sticking less than two minutes later, Team Red tallied the equalizer when Givani Smith skated in on the penalty shot and beat Ville Husso.

Matt Luff put one past Jussi Olkinuora to give Team White a 2-1 advantage early in the second period, but Team Red jumped ahead, 3-2, when Jakub Vrana and Cross Hanas scored back-to-back goals on Sebastian Cossa.
Smith scored an empty-netter, his second goal of the scrimmage, with 1.7 seconds remaining.

Both periods ended with shootouts, featuring goals from Dominik Kubalik and Taro Hirose of Team Red in addition to Elmer Soderblom and Luff scoring for Team White.
Lalonde said the scrimmage represents a culmination of hard work.
"To me, it's a credit to the guys," Lalonde said. "They were dialed in our meetings, dialed within our practices and they went out and executed. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. But for the most part, pretty happy with how things have gone so far."
Lalonde was especially pleased with how his players continue to embrace a new system.
"It's still very early in the process," Lalonde said. "But it's exciting because some of the stuff we worked on in the first three days, it translated in a positive way in that Red & White Game today."

Lalonde also took time to thank the volunteers in Traverse City for their contributions.
"First-class," Lalonde said about the accommodations in Traverse City. "But not only detailed and on top of everything, just genuine demeanor. Good people, they want to say hello and will do anything for you. Really, really impressive."
The Red Wings will hold their final training camp practice Monday before opening their eight-game 2022-23 preseason schedule on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.