The Detroit Red Wings won 7-4 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, with Detroit prospects leading the charge. How Arturs Silovs didn’t get pulled is beyond me. This game made up for the lack of scoring in the first game of the Red Wings preseason. The scoring was all over the place.

First Period: Detroit Wakes Up After A Slow Start

Detroit didn’t look together to begin the period, allowing five shots on net and not having shots of their own. Nick Robertson opened the scoring shorthanded; this goal was answered later by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (MBN) with a nasty one-timer. Nate Danielson and Ben Chiarot assisted on the goal, which came after a missed chance by Chiarot from a great pass by MBN. The tide has turned at this point, and the team looks much more cohesive. Anton Johansson showed a lot of confidence when he got in Sidney Crosby’s face and started a scrum. Pittsburgh did not answer the call, and nobody tried to fight Johansson afterward. The period ends with the game tied.

Second Period: Appleton And Sandin-Pellikka Strike Fast

The second started with high tensions. Crosby and Marco Kasper got into a little tussle; both received minor penalties. Mason Appleton scores off a rebound from a Chiarot shot. Shortly after, Axel Sandin-Pellikka scores, one-timing a deflected pass from Viktor Arvidsson. Pittsburgh answers that goal with one of their own; Rickard Rakell puts one past John Gibson, and it’s 3-2 Detroit. This period was the opposite of the last period: Detroit started off looking good, and then it melted away until the end of the second period.

Third Period: The Floodgates Open

Trey Augustine is next to start the third. This period was mostly one-sided in Detroit’s favor, and Declan Carlile, out of frustration, went after Wilmer Skoog. Carlile wanted to fight, and Skoog didn’t answer. The Penguins defenseman received a double roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct and was out of the game. Carlile said afterward that he had seen enough of how Detroit was treating Crosby: “It just seemed like he got in a little shot after a whistle that I didn’t really like.” After that, it was scoring left and right. MBN gets his second of the night on the power play, rebounding a Johansson shot. Kaedan Korczak answers right away. Ondrej Becher deflects in a goal, and then Skoog gets a rebound and buries it into an open net. Jesse Kiiskinen adds another for good measure, and the game is all but over. Rutger McGroarty scored one for Pittsburgh, but it didn’t matter; Detroit wins 7-4.

What Stood Out For Detroit

Detroit’s play throughout the game was like a pendulum. Kasper was the hardest skater on the team but never got rewarded for it. Anton Johansson had four assists; my only complaint about his game was his speed. He lost a few puck races he shouldn’t have lost. Trey Augustine allowed two goals against during the third period, but in his defense, he only faced eight shots and seemed cold. Augustine still made some good saves, and I think he will have a better showing next game. MBN was the star of the game with two goals and eight hits. The physical rookie really showed his stuff Tuesday night. Todd McLellan’s expectations for the young forward are high, along with all of us fans.

Red Wings Preseason Turns To Buffalo

The preseason is officially at the halfway mark, and our next opponent is the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo is a strong team, though recently weakened by Mattias Samuelsson and offseason acquisition Olen Zellweger, as both D-men were hurt in their win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Zellweger entered concussion protocol after taking a hit late in the second period, and Samuelsson left the game after blocking a shot.

I believe Detroit has a good chance for another W against Buffalo. MBN is oozing confidence, and even though we don’t know the lineup yet, he should be in it to compound that confidence and experience. I would also like to see Anton Johansson back on the ice. The defenseman played well even with his lack of speed.

The game against Buffalo will be Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena.