NEW YORK — The difference in the game came down to special teams: The Detroit Red Wings didn't get anything out of their power play; their opponent, did.
A timely goal from Dylan Larkin and a solid performance from Alex Lyon wasn't enough in the Wings' only appearance this season at Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers, an early-season Stanley Cup favorite, took advantage to beat their Original Six rival, 4-1.
"This is going to be a frustrating game to watch back because we did some pretty good things," coach Derek Lalonde said. "You put a pretty good performance on the road against a team like this, you’ve got to start learning to find a way to get some points."
When the Wings got a power play near the midway point of the third period, it was their fourth of the night. Thwarted by the Rangers getting in lanes, the Wings' best chance was a wrist shot by Vladimir Tarasenko.
Lyon was pulled with 2:43 left, giving the Wings a 6-on-5 advantage. Mika Zibanejad took advantage and added an empty-net goal to his two-assist night.
Dylan Larkin scored in the final second of the first period, but the Wings entered the third period down by a goal as they faced their fifth penalty kill of the game. Reilly Smith scored off a draw five minutes into the third period, beating Lyon, who appeared to be screened by Moritz Seider.
The Wings play the Rangers again Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.
Why Lyon started
With Cam Talbot having made 42 saves in the previous game to earn a shutout, he might have appeared to earn a second straight start. But it was a high-volume game for the 37-year-old, and the Wings also wanted to get Lyon into a game, so he got the nod in New York. Derek Lalonde pointed to how Lyon "gave us a huge boost," last season, "we had a 16-4-2 stretch, and if we had one person in that stretch who was our MVP, it was him." Alexis Lafreniere scored on Lyon at 11:45 of the first period when Lafreniere was left open to one-time a pass from Artemi Panarin. Lyon was excellent during the New York's second power play, making three saves as the Rangers spent the entire two minutes in Detroit's zone. Lyon made one of his best saves late in the second period when he whipped his glove hand out to stop a streaking Vincent Trochek. Lyon finished with 24 saves.
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Holl of a goal
A week ago, Justin Holl was assigned to the minors after clearing waivers. Little used last season in the first of a three-year, $10.2 million deal (he played just 38 games), Holl was recalled after Jeff Petry was injured in the season opener. Holl spoke during the preseason of his belief in himself, saying that, "I know I am an NHL player." He showed that Monday night when he caught a drop pass from Patrick Kane at the top of the right circle in New York's zone, skated up the flank to near the goal line and then centered a pass that Larkin sent past Igor Stesterkin (31 saves). There was 1.1 seconds left on the clock, giving the Wings a tying goal just as the first period expired.
Power push
The Wings' first power play latest but 20 seconds, as Seider was called for interference; that was the Wings' only man advantage in the first period. In the second, they went on one a couple minutes in. As in the previous games, the Wings had a power play where they did everything but score. Point the finger at Shesterkin this time; he was brilliant, including a highlight windmill save on Alex DeBrincat, one of six saves made during that two-minute stretch. It was the Rangers who were able to use take advantage of having an extra skater in the second period, though, with Chris Kreider tipping Mika Zibanejad's shot at 17:07 to make it 2-1.
"The game winning goal was on the power play," Lalonde said. "They won the special teams game."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames . Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter . Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings , A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon , Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings simply outplayed on special teams in 4-1 loss to New York Rangers
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