Like the Canadian against the Leafs two days earlier, the Detroit Red Wings were pumped up for their opener on Friday night. Wouldn’t have been Jake Allen’s performance in front of the Habs’ net in the first periodthey would have spun into an easy victory.
If Allen’s performance allowed his team to stay in the game through the third period, we thought the Canadian’s chances of winning were slim.
The Red Wings pushed hard in all three areas. Martin Saint-Louis’ men could not achieve much.
When Elmer Söderblom scored the opening goal in the opening minutes of the third period, it felt like the carrots were done for Martin Saint-Louis’ men.
The Red Wings eventually put the game out of reach for the Canadian with two clean goals in the final minute.
The defeat is not due to a lack of effort. The effort was there, but the Red Wings played brilliantly and confidently.
You deserve the win.
Difficult evening for Suzuki
The Suzuki-Cole duo were less visible at the Bell Center than they were Wednesday night. Suzuki in particular didn’t have his best game.
He had no shots on goal and had trouble with face-offs, winning just three out of nine averaging 33 percent.
On the rookie side, Jordan Harris had a good game. With an ice time of 21:28 minutes, he was the second most frequently used defender for the Habsburgs after David Savard.
He did not come on for a Red Wings goal, had four shots on the net, had just one turnover and made three blocks.
For his part, Kaiden Guhle recovered well from an injury that limited him to three appearances on the ice in the first half.
Arber Xhekaj made himself felt again with six goals.
What to do with Slafkowski?
As for Juraj Slafkovsky, he again had no influence whatsoever.
After two games we can think he’s not ready for the National League. It wouldn’t be surprising if St. Louis left him out for Saturday night’s game in Washington.
But you should not panic.
At the risk of repeating himself, Slafkovsky wasn’t considered an exceptional player in last July’s draft.
If he has the physique for the job, he still has a lot to learn and he’s not going to improve by playing nine or ten minutes a game.
A stay in Laval seems to indicate this in his case.
The Return of Drouin?
Evgenii Dadonov doesn’t break anything either.
Plus, we can expect to see Jonathan Drouin in the lineup for the first time against the Capitals, who will be looking for a first win after back-to-back losses.
It’s up to him to take his chance when the opportunity arises. It will first have to go through an absolute implication.
A player may have all the talent in the world, but he must do everything he can to earn his place.