Red Wings bounce back to beat Carolina Hurricanes 4-2
The Carolina Hurricanes have lost their captain, Jordan Staal, to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Now, the Canes have lost their first game.
Robby Fabbri scored with 2:42 left in regulation for the go-ahead goal as the Detroit Red Wings took a 4-2 victory at Little Caesars Arena. Fabbri scored from the top of the crease, beating Canes goalie Petr Mrazek just after Carolina had killed off a Brady Skjei slashing penalty on a call that the Canes questioned.
Fabbri’s goal came about a minute after Wings goalie Jonathan Bernier made his biggest save of the night, robbing Sebastian Aho of a shorthanded goal with 3:45 left in the third.
Dylan Larkin’s second goal of the game, an empty-netter, sealed the Wings’ first victory after the Canes won the season opener 3-0 on Thursday.
“I didn’t like the start, I didn’t like the first two periods,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said on the postgame media call. “We played all right in the third. We had some compete. But to me the game was already determined because we gave away 40 minutes. You can’t do that in this league.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t work hard. We didn’t play our game. We were all of a sudden trying to make finesse plays all over the ice. I didn’t know what I was watching for two periods. That was frustrating for me.”
Andrei Svechnikov, who mirrored the team’s sluggish start Saturday, had a goal and assist in the third period for Carolina. Svechnikov first unloaded a shot on the power play in the first minute of the period, the puck hitting off Vincent Trocheck’s leg and past goalie Jonathan Bernier for a 1-1 tie — Svechnikov’s assist his 100th career NHL point.
Larkin gave the Wings a 2-1 lead just 18 seconds later when his centering pass from behind the Canes net glanced off Trocheck’s stick, off Skjei’s skate and past Mrazek.
But Svechnikov, who had an empty-net goal Thursday in the season opener, beat Bernier with a shot from the slot for a 2-2 tie at 8:56 of the third, Svechnikov lunging as he shot. But the Wings answered again.
“They worked hard for 60 minutes and we didn’t,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s the NHL. You’ve got to be ready every night. You’ve got to respect every shift.”
Ryan gives Wings 1-0 lead in second
Bobby Ryan, playing his first game with the Red Wings, pushed Detroit to a 1-0 lead at 2:44 of the second period.
On a rush into the Canes zone, Detroit’s Filip Zadina chased down the puck below the goal line and then found Ryan open in the left circle for the one-timer. It was the 255th career goal for Ryan, who signed a one-year contract in October with the Red Wings as a free agent after seven seasons with the Ottawa Senators.
The Canes were beaten down the ice often in the second as the Wings used their speed to get the puck deep. The Canes had nine shots but few good scoring chances in the period against Bernier.
Canes defenseman Brett Pesce drew a cross-checking penalty against Danny DeKeyser in final minute of the period and the Canes went into the third with 1:29 of power-play time remaining.
First period ends scoreless
The first period at Little Caesars Arena would have created little fan buzz, if there were fans in the building. It ended scoreless as neither team established anything close to their game and spent most of the period chasing the puck.
The Wings had the best scoring chance of the opening period — on a Canes power play. Vladislav Namestnikov had a breakaway after an Aho turnover, but Mrazek made a patient glove save.
The Canes had back-to-back power plays but the puck movement was too slow and predictable for some aggressive penalty killers of the Wings, who held Carolina to one power-play shot. Detroit also had a power play in the period as Nino Niederreiter went to the penalty box, but the Canes killed if off.
Trocheck’s line was the busiest and best for the Canes in the period. Martin Necas had some good looks and would have scored on a wraparound against Bernier had he not had the puck slide off his stick on the choppy ice.
Staal remains on NHL COVID list
The Hurricanes realized a regular season played during the pandemic would have unavoidable COVID-19 disruptions.
For the Canes, the first came after the first game.
The Hurricanes opened the 2020-21 season Thursday, shutting out the Red Wings 3-0, then lost Staal to the NHL COVID-19 protocol on Friday. The Canes went into Saturday’s second game with the Red Wings missing their best defensive center and faceoff man as well as a team leader.
“He’s a big part of our team and it’s always tough if we miss him,” forward Teuvo Teravainen said on a Saturday media call. “He’s a big guy on the ice, all over the place, PK, winning faceoffs. Someone else has to step up pretty big.”
The Canes called up center Morgan Geekie from the taxi squad as a replacement. Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour had center Vincent Trocheck with wingers Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas at the morning skate, and Jordan Martinook centered Warren Foegele and Jesper Fast. Geekie centered Brock McGinn and Ryan Dzingel.
Brind’Amour said Saturday he did not know how long Staal would be out.
Milestone for Teravainen
Teravainen earned his 200th career assist in the opener Thursday after a late scoring change made after the game, but the Finnish forward took the personal milestone in stride.
“It’s pretty cool, of course,” he said Saturday. “I got a lot of help from linemates and teammates to put those goals in, so it’s good.”
Mrazek starts second game
After picking up his 22nd career shutout and his eighth with the Canes, Mrazek was the starter again Saturday.
Mrazek’s 14-save shutout Thursday was just the third in franchise history in a season opener and the first since the 1996-97 season. Sean Burke had the other two shutouts — in October 1995 and then October 1996.
Geekie has a new number
You might have to double-check the roster when No. 67 takes the ice Saturday. That’s Geekie. He has a new number this season.
Asked Saturday about the change, Geekie said it’s a “boring story” but said, “I honestly thought it looked cooler.”
Geekie was the 67th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft when he was taken by the Hurricanes.
This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 6:32 PM.
