The Detroit Red Wings season got started tonight as they played their first preseason game; they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins, whom they will see one more time in the preseason on October 4th and three times in the regular season on October 18th, March 17th, and April 11th. The Red Wings got things started with a 4-3 win over the Penguins. The Penguins also feature two former Red Wings goalies, Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg; the Red Wings faced Nedeljkovic tonight.
Who Played for the Detroit Red Wings?
Forwards
18 Andrew Copp
21 Austin Czarnik
23 Lucas Raymond
25 Taro Hirose
27 Michael Rasmussen
29 Nate Danielson
57 David Perron
48 Jonatan Berggren
71 Dylan Larkin
78 Amadeus Lombardi
85 Elmer Soderblom
93 Alex DeBrincat
Defense
41 Shayne Gostisbehere
46 Jeff Petry
53 Moritz Seider
54 William Wallinder
77 Simon Edvinsson
96 Jake Walman
Goalies
47 James Reimer
60 Jan Bednar
Detroit Red Wings Takeaways from Game 1
Forwards
Tonight, Detroit Red Wings fans got their first taste of Alex DeBrincat, their big offseason acquisition in a winged wheel sweater. He immediately made his presence known, recording two assists coming on Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider’s goals.
Red Wings first-round pick Nate Danielson, who they took ninth overall, found the back of the net and got the scoring started in his first game playing for the Red Wings. Danielson is a name to watch for during the preseason, as it’s been rumored he could be one of the names pushing to start the season with the team.
Larkin and Jonatan Berggren also looked ready to go out of the gate as Larkin scored in the second period on the power play, and Berggren recorded an assist on Danielson’s goal as well as Taro Hirose who has spent most of his career in Grand Rapids with the Red Wings AHL affiliate.
Michael Rasmussen suffered an injury last season and missed the final two months of the season due to injury after having one of his best seasons and growing into himself. Tonight, he showed that he is healthy and hasn’t missed a beat as he found the back of the net, which is a good sign entering this season.
Defense
In the offseason, the Red Wings added to their blue line, and tonight, fans got to see two of their big additions play Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry, as well as one of the top prospects in William Wallinder.
Gostisbehere was all over the score sheet, recording two assists, both of which came on the power-play as he assisted on Larkin and Seider’s goals in the second period. Seeing him at the point on the Red Wings attack is a good spot for him and will be something to watch for the Red Wings.
Goalies
James Reimer got the start and played 30:14 minutes, and during that time, he stopped seven shots of the nine he faced for a .778 save percentage. Not a lot to overreact about here, as Reimer is a veteran in the league and is getting back in game shape.
Jan Bednar got the rest of the game for the Red Wings, and he saw 14 total shots and stopped 13 of them in the 29:46 minutes he saw for a .929 save percentage. Bednar got some high praise from Red Wings head coach Derek LaLonde after how he looked in rookie and training camps.
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- Detroit Red Wings started their preseason schedule tonight
- It was the first glance at offseason acquisitions Alex DeBrincat, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jeff Petry, and James Reimer.
- Tonight featured Amadeus Lombardi and William Wallinder in a Red Wings jersey.
Bottom Line: Detroit Red Wings Hockey Is Back
Detroit Red Wings hockey is back and it is an exciting time as they try to make it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season. This Red Wings team has me excited for this season and think this team is being slept on entering the season. Things will get real for them on October 12th when they face the New Jersey Devils and the home opener will be October 14th against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
