Trade deadline week in the NHL has come and gone, and the Red Wings look to be standing a little taller at the end of it, even if Dylan Larkin's injury put a damper on the end of deadline day itself.
Justin Faulk and David Perron have joined the team for the stretch run and hopefully with the addition of the two former Blues, the Red Wings should have improved their odds in a tight Atlantic playoffs race, though the injury to Larkin, and the potential injury to star netminder John Gibson have made things a little bit harder, even if they've only missed a little over a game combined so far.
Chutes and Ladders
Detroit sandwiched a pair of losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers between wins over the Nashville Predators and the New Jersey Devils. Starting off the week with a 4-2 win over Nashville, Detroit shook their lines up and the effort paid off. Rookie Emmitt Finnie scored his first goal since Jan. 28, and Lucas Raymond scored his 20th goal of the season as the team managed to stave off a Nashville squad looking to prove that none of their corps were trade chips. Gibson did have to leave the game early with a shoulder stinger, but the injury wasn't serious enough to take him out for any extended period.
However, the Red Wings gave up a 3-1 lead in the third period to the Vegas Golden Knights in their next game. The Red Wings and Knights both scored quickly in the game, with Finnie tying the game after Vegas struck first. The Red Wings were able to build a 3-1 lead over the next period, but that all collapsed in the third. Vegas overcame the deficit with three unanswered goals between the end of the second period and overtime. Mitch Marner and Tomas Hertl combined for the game tying and game winning goals, each assisting on the others' goal.
Things didn't look any better in the Red Wings 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers. Florida, like Vegas, was coming into LCA on the second game of a back to back series. Unlike Vegas, Florida did not let the Red Wings take a lead while they got warmed up. On trade deadline day, the Red Wings played without either of the players they'd acquired, and Florida took their lunch money. Larkin was injured in the third period as he set his feet up for a shot, his knee bending awkwardly and taking him out of at least the Red Wing's next two games, though he is traveling for the team's four game road trip. Matthew Tkachuk would have a hat trick by the end of the night after a convincing win over the Red Wings.
On a slightly better note...
Detroit started their final game of the week on the road, as they will the next three games. Facing off against the New Jersey Devils with the newly acquired Faulk manning the second pairing, it was Mo Seider and the Red Wings defense that starred on Sunday night after a rough week at home. Seider started off scoring with a wrister from the blueline, and the Red Wings next goal came off of a now-signature James van Riemsdyk tip-in, with the primary assist going to #53. Dominik Shine, captain of the Red Wings' AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, got his first NHL goal at 32 years old. The Red Wings bench exploded afterwards to congratulate the longtime Griffins forward.
It wasn't all good news, though. Gibson left the game after the second period with an apparent lower body injury, though Red Wings bench boss Todd McLellan said postgame that he thinks Gibson should be fine.
Talbot and the defense stepped up in a big way, however, and facing just over ten shots over the second period, Talbot was perfect, combining with Gibson for the first combined shutout by a Detroit tandem since 2019.
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