Following their wild 6-5 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday evening, the Detroit Red Wings began their trek out west and wanted to start earning more points in the standings.
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Thanks to some late-game heroics from a first-ballot future Hall of Famer, they managed to do just that.
Red Wings forward Patrick Kane scored the go-ahead goal with just 2:29 remaining in the third period against the Seattle Kraken, his second goal in as many games and the 497th of his NHL career. His goal proved to be the winner, as Detroit held on for a 4-3 regulation win at Climate Pledge Arena.
With the win, the Red Wings have improved to 15-11-3 and are just one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Detroit, which trailed 3-2 in the second period, tied the game late in the frame on James van Riemsdyk’s fifth goal in his last six outings. Ironically, van Riemsdyk was selected one pick after Kane in the 2007 NHL Draft.
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The Red Wings opened the scoring in the first period on a tally from rookie Emmitt Finnie, who buried a beautiful cross-ice feed from fellow rookie Nate Danielson for his sixth goal of the season. Rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka also picked up an assist.
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Veteran forward Andrew Copp, who hadn’t scored in nearly two full months, registered his first tally since Oct. 11 in the second period, as he jammed the puck at the side of the net through the pads of goaltender Joey Daccord. Play continued, but at the next stoppage of play, replays confirmed the puck fully crossed the goal line.
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But it would be the Kraken who scored the next two goals courtesy of Adam Larsson and Chandler Stephenson, the latter of whom tallied on a deflection past John Gibson.
For the second time in as many games, the Red Wings mounted a comeback effort and ultimately took the lead, and this time, protected it to the final horn.
Gibson picked up the victory by making 24 saves, while Daccord countered with 21 saves.
Detroit’s road trip will continue with a tilt against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday evening at Rogers Arena.
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