The Detroit Red Wings are back on the winning track as Alex Lyon stops the Flyers.
The Detroit Red Wings are back to their explosive ways with two games remaining before the All-Star break. The Red Wings were able to turn things around on Thursday after what appeared to be an awful night on Tuesday against Dallas. This was particularly the case for Alex Lyon, who “pitched” a perfect game to lead the Red Wings past the Flyers 3-0.
When it was revealed on Wednesday that Alex Lyon would start for the Detroit Red Wings under head coach Derek Lalonde, there was some conjecture. I began to consider, at the very least, if it would be detrimental to see James Reimer, allow Lyon to sit, and then have him fresh for the Golden Knights. However, with a conference rival Lalonde had it right about Philly.
Detroit defeated the opposition 3-0 thanks to a strong second-period effort by the group. In contrast to what was mentioned regarding the Dallas Stars game in the second quarter, this sounds like the total opposite. With increased offensive output, Detroit opened up a three-goal lead and continued to press for the win.
Detroit responded fairly (sort of) to the Flyers’ rough play even though they refrained from making cheap plays and taking penalties. Detroit did well to maintain their defensive focus, make wiser choices, and just find ways to shut out the Flyers in the closing minutes of the game.
The middle portion of this game saw three goals scored by Detroit without a response. Detroit made their imprint in the second period, although Philadelphia appeared to have the better of things in the first with plenty of scoring opportunities. Dylan Larkin scored a power-play goal to extend his point streak to ten games.
Larkin scored a goal for the Red Wings with a brilliant play in which he buried a rebound and beat Samuel Ersson high to tuck it under the crossbar. But Detroit was far from finished; in a brilliant move, defender Moritz Seider fired a shot at Ersson that deflected and struck the twine, giving Seider his sixth goal of the 2023โ24 season.
It was an aim that didn’t mean sh*t later in the second period.
The puck was brought deep into the Flyers’ zone by Michael Rasmussen. The fact that Detroit was a) short-handed and b) planning a line change made the three attackers fairly indolent in their attempts to pressure Rasmussen. With excellent puck possession, Rasmussen found Andrew Copp, who beat Ersson with a screaming blast to increase the Red Wings’ lead.
After Bally Sports Detroit announcer Trevor Thompson questioned Copp about the significance of his 100th career goal, Copp made the statement above. After playing for forty minutes, Copp provided a thoughtful response. Under John Tortorella, the Flyers began to play on-brand, throwing more bodies, finishing checks a little more frequently, and increasing their physicality
There were several scrums as a result, most of which were led by Garnet Hathaway. The two that stood out the most, though, were Nicolas Deslauriers and Klim Kostin, who threw off their gloves and faced off. Even though Kostin prevailed, it may have served as a good warm-up bout for him before Detroit’s game against Ottawa at the end of the month.
The third period was somewhat uneventful. The Flyers’ physical play persisted, and Detroit made many attempts to add more but was unable to manufacture any. The power play appeared unbalanced, unable to convert on scoring opportunities. When Patrick Kane joins the lineup again, that should be easy to remedy.
But as the game was coming to a finish, the Red Wings supporters started yelling “JA-RED GO-FF” after a Lions fan wearing a No. 16 Jared Goff shirt was shown by the in-arena crew. It was fantastic to win against Philadelphia on Thursday, but it’s also exciting to watch the city come together in support of the Lions and even the Red Wings.
The building was buzzing, and the Red Wings supporters were eager to start the wave. Little Caesars Arena seemed to be popping in this one, judging by the volume of the Bally Sports coverage. It’s a positive vibe, particularly with Detroit trying to turn things around.