The metal of Detroit Red Wings was put to the test as they embarked on a season-high six-game road trip.
The road trip, which just concluded Saturday night, yielded extremely encouraging results, as the Red Wings won four of six games while collecting nine of a possible 12 points.
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The Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks by a final score of 4-0 at the United Center thanks to multiple contributions from former Blackhawks players Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, helping Detroit maintain a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Not only that, but John Gibson notched his second shutout in three games and won his fifth straight start, which he attributed to a complete team effort.
“I thought it was a complete game from top to bottom, from faceoff to finish,” Gibson said. “We stuck to our game plan and played very well. A total team effort.”
DeBrincat scored just 55 seconds into the game, while Kane scored the 498th goal of his NHL career in the venue where he wowed legions of Blackhawks fans during his 15 and a half seasons as a Blackhawk.
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Rookie Emmitt Finnie increased the lead to 3-0 in the second period, while DeBrincat capped the scoring with an empty-net goal late in the third period, his second of the night and his team-leading 18th goal.
Afterward, head coach Todd McLellan, who is approaching his first anniversary since being hired, praised Detroit’s efforts not only against Chicago but throughout the road trip.
“When you look at it from a points point of view, it’s a very good journey for us, we had to win in different ways,” he said. “To finish six games in 10 nights with a shutout is something we should be proud of.”
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McLellan has spoken many times about the importance of mental toughness and game management, something he has seen a lot of during the journey.
Red Wings’ Patrick Kane on returning to Chicago: ‘It’s always fun’
When we started training camp three months ago, we were talking about being stronger mentally, physically and improving (our) game management,” he said. “I thought we saw those three things on the journey, especially here tonight.”
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The Red Wings return home to play back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday night against the New York Islanders and Utah Mammoth.
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