The 2022-2023 Detroit Red Wings season opened up on Friday with a home game against the Montreal Canadiens and then they traveled to New Jersey for a matchup against the Devils on Saturday.
Back in June, the Red Wings hired new head coach Derek Lalonde. Coach Lalonde had been an assistant in Tampa where he helped guide the team to consecutive Stanley Cups. With the rich history of the Red Wings and being the United States team to win the most Stanley Cups (11), the Wings and General Manager Steve Yzerman want to return us to glory.
Game 1:
And that starts with the first game of the season and the new look Red Wings didn’t disappoint. This was the Detroit debut of new Wings goaltender Ville Husso, who was traded from the St. Louis Blues in July for a third-round draft pick. And Husso did his job earning a shut-out on 29 shots. This match was scoreless until the third period when Elmer Soderblom, making his NHL debut, scored the first goal of his career; he also assisted on the other two Red Wings goals in the third. Those two goals were empty-netters and were scored by C Michael Rasmussen and Defensemen Olli Maatta.
Final: 3-0 Red Wings
3 Stars:
1. G – Ville Husso
2. RW – Elmer Soderblom
3. HC – Derek Lalonde (First win as head coach earns him a star in my book)
Game 2:
In the second game of the new season saw the Red Wings start another newly signed goaltender by the name of Alex Nedeljkovic who Detroit also traded for in July. Alex did a very good job in this game as well. Giving up two goals while facing 39 shots on goal. It was 1-0 Devils after one, but in the second period, the Wings went off…scoring four goals. Two early goals in the period by Ben Chiarot and Jakub Vrana, and two later in the period by David Perron and Captain Dylan Larkin.
Final: 5-2 Red Wings
3 Stars:
1. C – Dylan Larkin
2. G – Alex Nedeljkovic
3. D – Ben Chiarot
The Red Wings start their season 2-0 for the first time since 2019. The acquisitions Steve Yzerman made in the off-season appear to have given the Red Wings depth and that is what has been lacking from previous teams. However, the season is young and Detroit fans should know by now not to get excited about a fast start for any of our teams…I said we should know, but most won’t.
David Masters