The Detroit Red Wings welcomed the New Jersey Devils into Detroit for a Black Friday day game. A back-and-forth game between the two teams, led by solid games from each power play unit, ended with the Devils pulling out a 5-4 win. In the win, the Devils move to 16-8-2, while the Red Wings fall to 10-11-2.
Game Recap
The Red Wings got out and running early, thanks to an early power play less than two minutes in. Vladimir Tarasenko tallied the game’s first goal off a wrist shot that seemed to handcuff Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom. The first half of the period would be controlled by the Red Wings, with Lucas Raymond extending his goal streak to five games when he beat the Devils’ defense into the zone and made a strong play on a wrap-around move with his shot deflecting off Timo Meier’s skate and into the net for a 2-0 Red Wings lead.
The Devils did not go down quietly in the period and got back into the game thanks to their power play, scoring twice in two minutes on the man advantage (with the second coming on a power play earned on a failed challenge on the first goal for the Devils). Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring for the Devils, ripping home a shot from the point that ended up deflecting off JT Compher in front of Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot. The second power play goal to even things up at two came off the stick of Meier, benefiting off a pass from Luke Hughes for a quick one-time shot that once again was deflected off a Red Wings player, this time tipping off Simon Edvinsson’s stick. The goal marked the 199th in Meier’s career. After one, the game would be tied at two apiece.
In the second, the Red Wings once again got the scoring going, this time with an early goal from Tyler Motte, who deflected a knuckle puck shot from Ben Chiarot past Markstrom to give his team a 3-2 lead just over a minute into the period. But the Devils came back with a vengeance, taking advantage of a turnover by Chiarot caused by Meier, who found Nico Hischier for his 14th of the season and the 150th of his career. A rush by the Devils towards the end of the period ended up with a battle in front of Talbot and Stefan Noesen getting rewarded for driving the net with the puck going into the net off his knee to push the Devils’ lead to 4-3 before the end of 40 minutes.
The goal-scoring continued in the third period, and once again, it came from the Devils’ power play. This time, the other Hughes brother, Jack, would take advantage of a screen in front of Talbot by Noesen, firing a wrist shot past Talbot’s shoulder to give the Devils a commanding 5-3 lead. That lead would not last long, though, with the Red Wings coming back 22 seconds later to draw within one on a shot that took a Red Wings bounce off the stick from Justin Holl. His wrist shot was initially blockered aside by Markstrom but was redirected off the skate of Tarasenko in mid-air to go over his blocker to make the game 5-4.
The Red Wings made a strong push to tie the game but were stymied by Markstrom, who made several big-time saves to preserve his team’s one-goal lead. The biggest save to maintain the lead came from Brett Pesce, getting his stick on Andrew Copp to negate an open-net chance Copp would have had with Markstrom sprawling in the crease.
Markstrom made 26 saves on 30 shots in the win, while Talbot made 26 saves on 31 shots in his 500th career game. The Devils hit the ice again on Saturday (Nov. 30) when they return home against the Washington Capitals. The Red Wings are off until Sunday (Dec. 1), when they welcome in the third Hughes brother, Quinn, and the Vancouver Canucks.
