Jake Allen had a team mark with 25 first-period saves, but he mightn’t beat the Red Wings single-handedly. After a happy start once morest the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens fell 3-0 on Friday at Little Caesars Arena.
If there is a positive aspect to this game, it is the exit of the masked man. In the first period, the Wings manhandled their rivals without however managing to score. They bombarded him with 25 shots.
“I didn’t know I had just equaled my own record,” Allen said with a smile. If you ask me a question regarding statistics, chances are I won’t find the answer. I’ll watch it when I retire.”
On March 31, 2022, the goalkeeper from New Brunswick also stopped 25 shots in the same period. He did it in a 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes in Raleigh. In the second period, the “Canes” had fired 26 shots in his direction, but Teuvo Teravainen had hit the target.
With Mike Matheson and Joel Edmundson on the sick bay and the loss of Kaiden Guhle for several minutes in the first half, Allen wasn’t exactly betting on a fortress ahead of him.
In the second period, Allen worked his magic with a spectacular save by stretching his stick to block a shot from Andrew Copp.
Elmer Söderblom already had the smile of a kid just hours before his NHL debut. “When I was young, I watched my compatriots Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom with the Wings and now it’s my turn to play for this team.”
Söderblom, a modest 6th round pick in the 2019 draft but who scored 21 goals last year in 52 games at Frölunda, will never forget his first game. In the third period, he eluded Arber Xhekaj’s coverage to pounce on a return shot from Michael Rasmussen and score his first NHL goal. In the stands, dad and mom Söderblom took the time to hug each other. A beautiful scene. They made the trip from Sweden to see son’s baptism in the big league.
On this goal, the Wings beat the CH thanks to the work of three colossi. Rasmussen, a 6’6″ center, rounded the net with ease as he fended off Chris Wideman. At 6’7″, Söderblom was also hard to slow down in the slot. Oskar Sundqvist, the smallest of this trio at 6’3″, got the other assist.
Rasmussen and Olli Maatta scored the other two goals for the winners into an empty net.
Ville Husso, acquired on the free agent market, also made a successful entry with the Wings. The former Blues goaltender blocked 29 shots to earn a shutout in his first start with his new team.
In another era, the Compagnie Créole sang “Vive le Douanier Rousseau”. Unfortunately, we did not hear this classic tribute to Husso following the match.
Sober ceremony
Still known as “Hockeytown”, Detroit doesn’t quite live up to its nickname. There wasn’t too much magic in the air for this opening night at the stunning Little Caesars Arena. The presentation of the players took place practically in anonymity. Moritz Seider, the Calder Trophy winner last year, won the popularity contest.
No love
Brendan Gallagher said so in the morning. He was looking forward to bickering with Ben Chiarot and he hoped his former teammate wouldn’t spare him. In the first half, Chiarot shoved his good friend following a whistle. Gallagher responded with a small punch to the chin from number 8. In Detroit, Chiarot inherited an “A” on his vest, as did David Perron.
Guhle in pain
In his first NHL game, Kaiden Guhle broke the 22-minute mark (22:34), posting the longest playing time of any Habs player. He didn’t play as much once morest the Wings as he spent much of the first period in the infirmary. The young defender probably suffered a shoulder discomfort. Returning to the game for the start of the second period, he winced once more as he blocked a powerful shot from Dominik Kubalik with the inside of his left foot.
202 centimeters
“I’m 202 centimeters, but in the United States they don’t use the metric system.” Wings rookie Elmer Söderblom debunked the question of his true greatness following morning practice. On some sites, the 21-year-old winger is identified as 6’6″, while the Wings are talking regarding 6’8″. But according to the exact calculation, we arrive at 6 ft 7 in.
