An opportunistic Detroit Red Wings team converted on three of their first nine shots, before scoring two goals late in the third period to earn a 5-1 win over Utah Monday night. Dylan Guenther recorded his 100th career NHL point in the loss with his team-leading 26th goal of the season in the first period.
“We got a little unlucky with our goal against,” head coach Andre Tourigny explained post-game. “Puck was bouncing a lot tonight; it was tough to execute. I’d love to simplify a little bit, go more at the net, a little bit more dirty, I think. We had a good game, starting the game, but we could have simplified a little bit more, shooting mentality than trying to make plays. At the end of the day, we got unlucky.”
“We had a good start,” Clayton Keller shared. “We had a lot of possession, some shots early, but I don’t think we did a good enough job of getting to the inside, getting those rebounds, the ugly ones, the tips, the second looks. Power play’s got to be better. We got a good start there, but we got to find a way to get another one there, so that’s definitely frustrating as well.”
Just a minute and a half into the game, Petr Mrazek sustained an injury off Dylan Guenther’s drive to the net and Alex Lyon entered the game in relief for Detroit. Less than a minute later, Kevin Stenlund drew a tripping penalty and Utah went on the power play for the first time.
Halfway through the man-advantage, Clayton Keller’s feed set up Guenther perfectly for a one-timer and the game’s opening goal. Logan Cooley also picked up an assist on Guenther’s goal to extend his point streak to six games.
Less than two minutes later, Red Wings forward Vladimir Tarasenko found Elmer Soderblom who scored and tied the game at 1-1. Late in the first, Utah put pressure on Detroit and had several chances that challenged Detroit’s goaltender Alex Lyon; however, could not score the go-ahead goal. Utah outshot the Red Wings 9-2 in the first period.
Detroit took a 2-1 lead at the start of the second period. Marco Kasper hit a puck off Lawson Crouse’s leg, which then bounced past Utah’s goaltender Karel Vejmelka. It looked like Utah would tie things up at 2-2 just minutes later when Lawson Crouse drove in on a breakaway; however, he was denied by Lyon. Seconds later, Crouse tried again and was stopped once again by Detroit’s netminder.
There were significant stretches of time where Utah kept Detroit from finding any offense, holding the visitors to one shot over a 13-minute span in the middle frame. In addition, for the second straight period, Utah outshot their opponent, this time five to three. Despite this, Utah entered the third period down a goal.
Seven minutes into the third period, Cooley found Nick Schmaltz for a great chance that was turned away by Lyon. Halfway through the third period, Detroit increased their lead once again. A puck bounced off Austin Watson and over Vejmelka to make it 3-1 for the visiting team.
With just under three minutes left, Vejmelka made his way off the ice for the extra attacker. Patrick Kane recovered the puck in Detroit’s end and passed it up to Alex DeBrincat, who scored an empty net goal to make it 4-1. A minute and a half later, Tyler Motte would score Detroit’s fifth and final goal, to secure a road win over Utah.
“Overall, it was a decent game,” Ian Cole shared postgame. “But ultimately, regardless of what the bounces were, we lost the game. There’s a lot of turning points that we could talk about over the course of that game, but overall didn’t get the job done.”
Utah wrapped up their homestand with two wins and one loss. The team travels east for a three-game road trip with stops in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Chicago.
“There’s never going to be any quit in this room, we’re going to fight all the way until the end,” Keller shared on the team’s mindset. “We’re going to try to win every single game from here on out. Never know what can happen so we’re going to stay motivated, learn from this game, and attack this next road trip. You go 3-0, you never know what happens.”
Observations:
- Utah’s power play had plenty of opportunities tonight but only scored on the first of their five opportunities. In addition, the team only registered two shots on goal on the man-advantage. Keller discussed what his team can do to score on more of their power play opportunities:
“Quicker puck movement. I think at times getting pucks to the net, being (simpler). I think that’s the key for us, that’s when we’re at our best. Winning the loose pucks, as well as battles in the corner, supporting each other. Just a little more simple. We have a lot of talent so it’s just doing the little things right.”
- The score won’t reflect this; but Utah had a solid defensive effort, holding Detroit to 14 total shots on goal, and only five through the first 40 minutes. The home team also tied a franchise record for fewest shots allowed in a period (2, first period). The most recent time Utah held an opponent to just a pair of shots was on Feb. 27 against the Minnesota Wild (third period).
“I think for the most part it was a good effort defensively,” Cole explained. “Clogging up the middle, took away chances, blocked shots when we had to. Ultimately goals went in the net and that’s the determining factor whether you win or lose.”
- It was the 14th straight start for Karel Vejmelka, a heavy workload for Utah’s starting goalie. He finished the night with nine saves on 13 shots. Per Utah Hockey Club PR, “his 14 consecutive starts at the most by any NHL goaltender since Jacob Markstrom started 15 consecutive contests with Calgary from 4/5/21-5/16/21 (9-6-0).”
