The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks engaged in a game of near-goals, trading chances in a give-and-go performance.
Dylan Larkin scored his 23rd goal of the season Monday at Little Caesars Arena and Jordan Oesterle used his first goal of the season to give the Wings a 2-1 victory in overtime. Larkin picked his 20th assist on the goal.
The Wings (20-20-6) came into the game humbled by a third-period collapse in their previous game. They didn’t let the Ducks get much on Alex Nedeljkovic — he faced 15 shots in regulation — but the Wings were stymied by John Gibson. Tyler Bertuzzi had a shot denied from just outside the crease midway through the third period, just after Pius Suter tried a shot from the left circle.
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The puck went into the Ducks’ net with 3:49 to play, but officials reviewed the play and video showed Filip Hronek kicked in the puck, after Gibson had stopped Larkin’s initial shot.
Defenseman Danny DeKeyser missed the game to be with his wife, who just had a baby girl, and defenseman Nick Leddy did not finish the game because of an upper-body injury.
Larkin’s line drive
It was back-and-forth most of the first period, with Gustav Lindstrom providing a big hit when he upended Sam Steel behind Detroit’s net. The Wings generated their best chances near the end. Larkin sent the puck into the paint, but Lucas Raymond wasn’t able to catch it before it slid past the net. Vladislav Namestnikov was denied on back-to-back shots. Finally, Larkin got the puck from Filip Zadina, breezed around a defender and drove to the net, and flicked a backhand behind Gibson.
Ducks line up
The Ducks tied it 2:29 into the second period. Moritz Seider recovered the puck in his own zone and passed it to Oesterle, who then transported the puck into the neutral zone and fired the puck towards Larkin, who was at center ice, and Raymond, who was at the far boards. But it was Adam Henrique who got to the puck, swiftly intercepting it and handing it off to Rickard Rakell, who turned the turnover into his 10th goal.
Rookies align
The game featured head-to-head battles between a pair of rookie defensemen (Seider, No. 6 in 2019 and Jamie Drysdale, No. 6 in 2020) and forwards (Raymond, No. 4 in 2020 and Trevor Zegras, No. 9 in 2019). All four ranked among the top 10 in the rookie scoring race coming into the game.
Raymond, Zegras and Seider lead the conversation for rookie of the year — but while Raymond and Zegras are first and second, respectively, in points, Seider is third, and plays a more challenging position.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.