The Detroit Red Wings kicked off the 2023-24 season at Little Cesar’s Arena, and they got it started on the right foot with a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lighting. Here are some takeaways from tonight’s win.
New Acquisitions Steal the Show Again
The Red Wings signed Daniel Sprong in free agency and may have been a steal. Last season with the Seattle Kraken, he played in 66 games, scoring 46 points on 21 goals and 25 assists. In his second game, he scored his second goal of the season tonight. If he continues to provide this scoring from the bottom six, he really will have been a steal for the Red Wings, who drastically needed scoring from that spot.
Alex DeBrincat was the biggest acquisition by the Red Wings in the offseason, and through two games, he’s showing why. Now, it is two games into the season, but if he continues to play like this, he could very well end the season as a 40-goal scorer and maybe even 100 points. Tonight, he got his second and third goals of the year in his second game and added an assist for four points to start the season. He is providing some solid offense to the Red Wings, and that first line looks much improved from last year after just two games.
J.T. Compher was signed because of what he can do as a defensive forward and provided some help to the back end, but it was nice to see him find the score sheet tonight with that goal in the second that put the Wings up 4-3, and an assist on Moritz Seider’s empty net goal.
First line needs to stay
Tonight, Red Wings coach Derek LaLonde put Lucas Raymond back on the first line with Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat, and together, that line combined for three goals and an assist; DeBrincat’s assist came on Sprong’s goal. These three seem to mesh well together and can be a problem for opposing teams as the season progresses.
Intensity stayed
After the first game, it looked like it was a copy of last year, where the Red Wings came out strong in the first, fell off in the second, and played better in the third, but it wasn’t enough. After a solid first period in which they outshot the Lightning 14-10, they came out with the same intensity in the second and peppered Tampa Bay goalie Jonas Johansson with shots as they outshot the Lightning 19-7. In the third, the Red Wings attacked with urgency, which led to the the win and they outshot the Lightning overall 42-26.
Wrap Up
The Detroit Red Wings will now hit the road for Ohio, taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night with puck drop set for 7:00 PM. You’d have to imagine that game will be James Reimer’s debut in a Winged Wheel sweater, as it is a long season and Ville Husso is making the first two starts of the season, but we will have to wait and see whose between the pipes.
