From goals to hits, the Detroit Red Wings gave a lively crowd reason to cheer in the home opener.
Newcomers showed off their scoring skills Saturday at Little Caesars Arena, helping the Wings barrage the Tampa Bay Lightning with pucks. Alex DeBrincat, the prize addition of a busy offseason, had two goals and an assist in the 6-4 victory. The Wings outshot Tampa, 41-26.
The game between the Atlantic Division rivals turned chippy in the third period, and Jake Walman ended up with double roughing penalties that left the Wings shorthanded; Victor Hedman converted during the power play to make it a one-gaol game. The Bolts pulled their goaltender with 2:30 to play, making for a tense finish before Moritz Seider scored with a second to play.
ALEX THE GREAT: Wings made big investment in Alex DeBrincat. It’s already paying off.
Daniel Sprong got the cheering going early with a goal, and Lucas Raymond kept it going when he bumped Michael Eyssimont into the Wings’ bench. Alex DeBrincat contributed a goal and an assist, and fellow newcomer J.T. Compher also scored and added an assist on Seider’s final goal. The Wings consistently tested goaltender Jonas Johansson, who turned away 28 shots the firs two periods.
The Wings used 11 forwards and seven defensemen to offset Robby Fabbri (undisclosed injury) being unavailable.
New guys pay off
Sprong scored for a second straight game, picking up his second goal when he went to the net and pounced on a puck that had squirted into the paint. The Wings signed Sprong in the offseason on the strength of his having posted a career-high 21 goals last season. Sprong collected a goal in the first game when the puck went in off him, because he was at the net. Saturday, Compher also earned a dirty goal, when he got a piece of Seider’s shot to make it 3-3 late in the second period. The Wings had a 32-18 edge in shots after 40 minutes.
DeBrincat dividends
DeBrincat scored a tying goal in the first game, giving the Wings a boost when they needed it. He did the same thing Saturday, evening the score at two apiece in the first period and nipping a rising Lightning momentum. DeBrincat directed the puck on net from a few feet inside the blue line; it was a bouncy shot that went in off a Bolt, giving DeBrincat his second point of the game. Dylan Larkin set up DeBrincat in the third period on a rush, sending a backhand pass that DeBrincat turned into his fourth point of the season.
Lightning strikes
Steven Stamkos knocked the puck into Detroit’s net using his glove at 7:34 of the first period, as the score was waved off, but there was no denying him a goal at 9:46 when he beat Ville Husso with a slap shot. Olli Määttä, back in the lineup after being scratched Thursday, had a shot attempt blocked a few minutes later, which Victor Hedman turned into a springboard pass to Brandon Hagel, who beat Husso with a wrist shot from the slot to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. Stamkos scored again midway through the second period.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings zap Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-4, in home opener
