Detroit, MI—Tonight at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings earned a 2-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on the strength of second period goals from Christian Fischer and Vladimir Tarasenko. Alex Lyon made 13 saves through 40 minutes, then Cam Talbot made nine more in the third period to complete the combined shutout. With both lineups featuring a steep divide between projectable NHL and AHL talent, it may not have been the most instructive game with respect to the Red Wings’ future, but here are three observations on the night’s action.
Copp Line Wastes Little Time Knocking Off Rust
At a time of year when change and experimentation are the standard, the Red Wings’ have shown one clear constant in personnel through training camp and the early stages of the pre-season: last year’s familiar third line of Andrew Copp between Michael Rasmussen and Christian Fischer.
© Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images
Per Derek Lalonde, the plan was for more experimentation, but the comfort of the ever reliable trio was too much to pass up. When asked about the Copp trio’s reliability, the coach replied, “Probably even had a plan of being a little more fluid with our lines through at least preseason, and we’ll still have some different looks, but as camp has gone on, I’ve gotten a little more comfortable [with] keeping some guys together that project as a line, and that’s certainly one of them. I think there’s a comfort level with that group, and I think there’s an identity that they formed towards the end of last year, so I think not only a comfort from me with them, I think there’s a comfort between the three of them.”
Tonight, Fischer scored the opener just over four minutes into the second, but the line had long since made its impact felt. They seemed to spend the duration of their first period shifts in the offensive zone, and they hardly relented as the game wore on. The line could easily have found a second and even a third by night’s end.
“Both lineups there’s a lot of inexperience or a lotta young guys getting opportunities…so, in my opinion, looking at my game, you just try to get your basic fundamentals back,” Fischer offered, when asked what he looks to take from a pre-season game. “A lot of details in your game that tend to slip away in summer time. Something as simple as stopping on pucks…Copper staying under in the D zone, making sure that we get the puck out, tracking, very simple things that makes the identity of our line.”
To Fischer’s initial point, it’s worth noting that he, Copp, and Rasmussen’s canny but simple veteran style is perhaps perfectly suited to dominate preseason competition that may be skilled but lacking in a bit of savviness. For long stretches this evening, it felt a bit as though the three forwards were offering a clinic to a young Blackhawks lineup in the NHL’s brand of creating offense from the cycle. It won’t be this easy every night, but it was an excellent start to the year for Detroit’s identity line.
Tarasenko’s Debut Delivers Mixed Results
Vladimir Tarasenko’s Detroit debut featured the scoring touch everyone wants to see from him, but it wasn’t exactly a masterclass. Tarasenko spent the majority of his night on a line with J.T. Compher and Jonatan Berggren, and the line realistically spent too much time in the defensive zone considering the quality of competition. With that said, Tarasenko and Berggren also seemed to be showing the preliminary signs of developing chemistry: combining with one another consistently, including near misses on a cross-ice pass from Tarasenko to Berggren in the first period and another missed connection on a two-on-one in the third.
The goal for Tarasenko came at the end of a long spell on the power play. An Isaak Phillips double-minor for high-sticking sent the Red Wings to the man advantage, which was compounded by a Frank Nazar cross-check three minutes later. On the initial five-on-four, Detroit’s unit of Tarasenko, Berggren, Copp, Compher, and Moritz Seider struggled to break down the Chicago PK, looking a bit too passive and deferential to create quality chances. However, at five-on-three, they showed more signs of life, a high-effort play from Copp kept the Wings on the attack, before Copp eventually found Tarasenko in the slot for the goal.
“It takes a little bit,” Lalonde said, when asked about the process of learning the game of a newcomer like Tarasenko. “Obviously a little more veteran player that you’ve seen around the league a little bit…you kinda get a feel of his type of game, but it takes some time to experience it day in and day out. With Vlad, I even appreciate he had a couple team-first plays if you will tonight, and obviously he’s a guy you want goals from, so I think it’s a positive that he scored tonight.”
As the pre-season progresses and eventually gives way to the regular season, it will be interesting to track whether Berggren remains a serious candidate to play with Compher and Tarasenko. There is promise in his connection with Tarasenko but also cause for concern. The natural alternative to Berggren in that spot would presumably be Patrick Kane. Kane could likely show similar offensive chemistry, though he may not be able to help out much with assuaging the “too much time in the D zone” part of the equation. It’s worth monitoring as we push toward the games that count for real.
A Note on “A’s”
Finally, tonight’s game offered a (perhaps) interesting window into the state of the Red Wings’ leadership council. With no Dylan Larkin in the lineup, no Red Wing wore a “C,” while Compher and Seider each wore an “A.” Both Seider and Compher are natural choices for the role, but that did mean that Ben Chiarot and Andrew Copp (both of whom wore “A”‘s last season) did not.
“I think this might give an opportunity to evaluate all of our (players) with an open spot, if you will,” Lalonde said after the Red & White Game back in Traverse City. “We ask guys to lead whether they wear a letter or not wear a letter. We’ve done a really good job inside that locker room of building our leadership core. Many different guys into it. No rush on that by any means. We’ll probably take a look at a lot of different things.”
By no means does tonight rule out the possibility that Copp or Chiarot will wind up in a potential rotation of alternate captains, and Lalonde’s point about the letters themselves having limited significance is well taken. If anything, tonight’s choices reaffirm Lalonde’s commitment to evaluating the roles before landing on final decisions.
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