Red Wings win first game over Wild on new home ice

Anthony Mantha #39 of the Detroit Red Wings scores the first NHL goal at the new Little Caesars Arena and pounds gloves with teammates on the bench during the first ever NHL game at the new arena against the Minnesota Wild on October 5, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Detroit Red Wings christened their new arena the right way Thursday night in their opener. Detroit saw goals from Martin Frk who turned 24 on the day and captain Henrik Zetterberg along with two big scorers that beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 at Little Caesars Arena.

This marked a new day for the Detroit Red Wings organization as they began a new path in a new home. Detroit’s acceptance of ending a 25 year playoff streak turned into a chance to write a new chapter in the NHL’s newest addition to professional hockey. While the ice and seats are new for fans, the Red Wings made changes to their lineup with new faces making their debuts for the 2017-18 season.

David Booth, Frk and Luke Witkowski were the hopeful freshman to assist in livening the Red Wings offense while Trevor Daley hoped to do well in the far end. With Minnesota as their opening adversary and a decent finish to the preseason, Detroit would go for the win to start their arena off with a bang.

Prior to the game, the Red Wings paid tribute to their former owner Mike Illitch who made the new arena possible in his family’s holding of the team. They made tributes to the victims of Las Vegas and former Red Wings broadcast Dave Strader who passed away Sunday. When the game got into play, they got a little too excited and got caught with too many men on the ice handing Minnesota the first power play in Hockeytown. Nino Niedereiter and Ryan Suter were all over the front of the net making Howard work for the saves.

When they play ended in front of Howard, officials checked the play as the puck crossed the line which officials then called for goaltender interference instead. Minnesota then went to use their challenge in an attempt to overturn the call. The call on the ice stood which returned to five on five and an end to Minnesota’s man advantage. After five minutes, the Red Wings found a surge to challenge against Devan Dubnyk in between the pipes for his team. He made the necessary stops but didn’t see an end to the pressure.

Detroit gained their first power play of the season but made nothing to convert well on it as the Wild found a shorthanded chance at one point. They didn’t give up staying the course until their next scoring chance would assuredly count. At 12:55 Ryan Suter drove the puck from the far end corner where the drive made it through the five hole of Howard. Coach Jeff Blashill immediately challenged the call as Mikael Granlund took an elbow into the helmet of the Red Wings goaltender which they thought to be goaltender interference. Officials confirmed the play saving the Red Wings a second time.

Minnesota was relentless as they continued to search for a legitimate goal to take the opening lead by any legal means. They recorded 13 shots to Detroit’s nine with the Wild heavily in the Detroit zone. The Red Wings finally got the puck out beyond their blue line and into different territory to charge for a difference maker to appear. They were unable to do with Dubnyk pulling off amazing saves that including an acrobatic snow angel save on Gustav Nyquist’s scoring chance. He had 13 through 20 minutes while Howard also remained flawless with 15 to his name.

Howard and the Red Wings got into trouble early on with a hooking call to Mike Green followed by a delay of game penalty to Daley. Some tense moments occurred near him when Wild captain Mikko Koivu had himself an open net but failed to get the goal inside. From then on, it was Detroit’s defense that was assisting with clearing the threat while killing time off the clock. The teams went back to even strength with the Wild still ahead on shots but weren’t coming up with anything serious since their two man advantage. They took seven shots through 14 minutes before Detroit gained a chance to increase the pucks at Dubnyk.

Plenty of opportunities were there and got better with a five on three for the Red Wings to get the job done. It came in the front half of the two-man advantage where Mantha got a piece of the drive that Frk brought to give Detroit its first official goal in the arena. With the penalty still in play Detroit added a second with Green’s shot getting deflected by Dylan Larkin on the stick.

The two plays that occurred 23 seconds apart held up for the duration of the period that kept Minnesota quiet in the final minutes. While they might have out shot them 11-10, the Red Wings big lead and mission to win at home was most important going into the third.  

Just two minutes into the period, the Minnesota Wild began to overcome the goal margin. First to make things happen was Joel Erikson Ek who got his shot through Howard for his first. Chris Stewart joined his teammate 48 seconds later with a move of the puck behind Howard before getting into the back of the net tying the score. They were two quick statements by Minnesota who shocked Detroit as a whole to remedy the situation.

The solution came on the stick of the Detroit captain scoring with perfect timing on his shot that beat Dubnyk breaking the tie. With the effort from the veterans, the birthday boy got into the fun of adding to the margin. Frk got his way onto the board with a shot at center to make it a comfortable 4-2 lead by the 24 year old.

Frustrations rose within the Minnesota ranks with a hard crosscheck to Darren Helm that sent him slamming into the ice. It put Detroit on another power play for the first time since their scoring surge while a man up. While they didn’t get anything on it, the lead seemed to hold far beyond the man advantage leaving the Wild in a desperate situation. Wild coach Bruce Budreau pulled Dubnyk to add an extra attacker but their efforts did not help out. They paid the price losing a man to another power play for Detroit that capped the first victory for Detroit in their new home.

Howard ended the night with a positive feeling despite allowing two goals. He skated off the ice with his first win of the season with a .949 save percentage and 37 saves on the night. He and the squad wouldnt get to celebrate their first win at home for long as a three game homestand began with a trip to the Ottawa Senators this weekend.