There aren’t many players in the National Hockey League hotter than Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat right now, who has points in seven of his last eight games and came through once again in the clutch on Tuesday evening against the New York Islanders.
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With newborn son Leighton in attendance, DeBrincat scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period, including the game-winner with 2:17 left in regulation, as part of Detroit’s 3-2 win.
DeBrincat gathered the rebound of his initial shot that deflected off Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and fired a shot past goaltender Ilya Sorokin for the winning tally:
Playing the role of hero, DeBrincat would become the first Red Wings player this season to reach the 20-goal mark with his winner late in regulation. He’s also on pace to become the first Red Wings player since Marian Hossa in 2008-09 to reach 40 goals scored.
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It was Detroit’s first victory in three tries over the Islanders this season, who had taken both previous contests from the Red Wings by a combined 12-2 score.
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With the victory, the Red Wings have now won five of their last seven and improved their record to 19-12-3 through the first 34 games of their centennial campaign.
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The Islanders struck first when Emil Heineman one-timed a shot past goaltender John Gibson at the 4:27 mark of the opening period, and it remained the game’s only goal until early in the third.
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The Red Wings generated multiple chances against Ilya Sorokin through the first 40 minutes, including a breakaway by John Leonard, who was making his Detroit debut after being called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins to replace the injured Patrick Kane.
Rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka ended Sorokin’s bid for a second straight shutout in Detroit by roofing a shot over his shoulder early in the third period to tie the game at 1-1. DeBrincat then scored on Detroit’s first power-play opportunity of the night not even two minutes later to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead.
However, the Islanders quickly answered when defenseman Scott Mayfield snuck in from the point, took a pass, and beat Gibson from the slot for his first goal of the season.
That set the stage for DeBrincat, who collected his team-leading ninth power-play tally of the season that ultimately stood up as the game-winner.
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Gibson won his fifth straight game for the Red Wings, making 16 saves on the 18 shots he faced, while Sorokin countered with 18 saves of his own on 21 shots against.
The Red Wings won’t have much time to celebrate their win, as they’re back at it on Wednesday evening against the visiting Utah Mammoth.
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