The Red Wings sent a pretty solid team to Chicago for the preseason opener Wednesday night. Eleven of their 20 players spent most of last season in the NHL, including a top line of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Detroit won 4-2, with goals from Tyler Motte, Jeff Petry, Lucas Raymond and Olli Maatta.
In a preseason game, the process of winning says more about the team than any scoreboard. So, let’s dive into what we learned about Detroit in this game.
Austin Watson shows his qualities in the first match of the test
When he spoke in Traverse City about what Austin Watson could bring to the Red Wings, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde didn’t lie. Watson’s main contribution is as a protector: hitting, creating space and dropping his gloves from time to time. But Lalonde was also careful not to diminish Watson’s abilities.
Lalonde was quick to point out that Watson is a first-round pick (18th overall by Nashville in 2010) whose active stick and playmaking ability make him a true NHL player. It’s by tapping into those layers of skill, more than his grunt, that Watson could use to carve out a spot on this Red Wings roster.
“We want to have a little bit of that element,” Lalonde said Tuesday of Watson’s toughness. “But at the same time, we need the player to help us. So there’s a lot of things that come into play.”
Watson did his part Wednesday night in Chicago, where he and the Red Wings’ presumed fourth line played as the second line. Watson had an assist and made several plays that helped his teammates.
Watson’s assist was by far his best moment of the night. After some time in the zone in the first period, Watson got the puck in the right half of the wall with some space. Instead of heading to the net for some individual action, he saw Tyler Motte pressuring a defender in front of the net. Watson made a great back-pass, and Motte barely had to move to take a redirect for the game’s first goal.
That goal is the kind of play — honest and hard-working — that gets coaches excited. When auditioning for a fourth-line job, those are two qualities every player wants to have.
Watson also had some impressive plays on the counterattack. Shorthanded with Marco Kasper, Watson made a nice play on the counterattack by pinning a puck-carrying Blackhawk against the boards, which allowed Kasper to recover the puck and make a breakaway. The opportunity didn’t quite materialize, but it was a team first of many from Watson.
As for the endgame, it’s hard to say if Watson has a shot at a contract. Playing like he did Wednesday strengthens his argument, but the Red Wings’ 23 roster spots are filled right now. It would take some movement to free up a spot for him. There’s a big decision — or rather decisions — to be made regarding Watson, and his performance so far will give Detroit management plenty to think about.
Ville Husso inconsistent in first start since injury
Ville Husso stopped 15 of the 17 shots he faced Wednesday, but the stats don’t matter here. This is a preseason game and Husso’s first NHL appearance since getting injured in February. Playing 40 minutes against Chicago is more of a warm-up for Husso, getting him closer to a full recovery.
“He’s healthy, but I think it seems a little fast for him at times, which is understandable,” Derek Lalonde said Wednesday after practice. “You can rehab, get back in shape, you can do what you can over the summer, but especially at that position, you need live reps.”
What’s worth examining is how Husso handled these live rehearsals and what they tell us about the state of his recovery.
Husso started the game strong, making several quality saves. One in particular stood out in the first period when Albert Johansson lost the puck on a zone break and 13-year-old NHL player Craigh Smith recovered the puck. Husso stopped Smith’s shot and didn’t concede a rebound.
The two goals Husso gave up weren’t as pretty, though, and both came from the six shots he faced in the second period. One came off a rebound of a shot off the post, which Smith backhanded just out of reach of Husso. The second came when Teuvo Teravainen’s spinning shot in the slot went just wide of Husso’s stretchy pad. Both saves were stops an NHL goalie at the top of his game should be making more often than not.
Still, it’s hard to fault Husso’s performance, because it’s as much a step in the recovery process as it is a competitive outing. These were Husso’s first NHL minutes in 225 days. Don’t expect perfection.
But it’s important to remember that Husso is in position to compete with two other established NHL starters for starts. He’s also, due to his injury and lack of games, likely on the weakest foot of the three. Husso will need to be much better in his next outing, but for now, he’s swept the dust.
In the third period, Sebastian Cossa stepped up and stopped 10 of 10 shots he faced in his first action of the preseason. He’s poised to become Grand Rapids’ starter this season, but it was an encouraging outing for his long-term NHL future.
Kasper and Mazur look up to par in pre-season
After morning skates Wednesday, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said he believes a player’s readiness for the NHL comes down to his ability to impact the entire game, not just individual areas.
“I really think that a two-man game, where you always play the right way, can have an impact on victories,” Lalonde said. “For me, that’s when the player is ready.”
In this case, forward prospects Marco Kasper and Carter Mazur produced plenty of NHL-ready video against Chicago. Both players were assertive on both ends, killing plays defensively and putting in extra effort to create plays offensively. In their bid to force their way into the lineup — whether now or later in the season — they made their case in remarkable fashion.
Mazur notably had a remarkable effort on Jeff Petry’s second-period goal, diving after a puck out of reach and pushing it into Petry’s wheelhouse for a shot on sight. But beyond that exceptional play, he also consistently found his way to the net in a way that could benefit his teammates. Defensively, he got into battles and held his own.
Kasper, meanwhile, relied on his quick skating to dart around the ice and control the play. There were shifts where he wreaked havoc deep in the offensive zone before getting back to defend quickly without losing his rhythm. He also had a great chance to score shorthanded by taking advantage of Watson’s aforementioned effort, a shift that saw him play just as well defensively by disrupting the Blackhawks’ structure and limiting their ability to attempt shots. Overall, it’s impressive.
According to HockeyStatCards, Mazur and Kasper had the highest and third-highest scores, respectively, during the outing.
But make no mistake, it will take a real shakeup for either player to crack the lineup on opening night. Detroit’s 23 roster spots are filled by 12 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies, and that’s not counting the latter. In some ways, these preseason games are less about trying to get a roster spot now and more about setting the tone for a potential roster spot later in the season when injuries or other absences inevitably occur. Either way, the Red Wings should be comfortable with both players to perform well at the NHL level. They showed their impact Wednesday, continuing to build on their positive momentum.
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