Destruction by Definition: Red Wings 4, Blackhawks 3

The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 at Little Caesar’s Arena on Wednesday night.

The Wings came out aggressive and had the better chances early but Alex Stalock and the Hawks weathered the initial push.

Detroit took back-to-back penalties 15 minutes into the first period which gave the Hawks 47 seconds with a 5-on-3 advantage. They weren’t able to convert as the first penalty expired, but during the remaining power-play time, Andreas Athanasiou and Lukas Reichel worked a nice give-and-go for a clean zone entry and Reichel set up Taylor Raddysh with a saucer pass that Raddysh one-timed past Red Wings goalie Ville Husso.

One minute later, a Tyler Johnson check on Robby Fabbri in the Detroit zone seemed to injure Fabbri, who did not return to the game.

As play continued, Cole Guttman found Raddysh in the slot and his shot leaked through Husso to double the Hawks lead and give Raddysh goals on consecutive shots.

Dylan Larkin was awarded a penalty shot with 41 seconds left in the period when Caleb Jones covered a loose puck with his hand after it snuck behind Stalock — but Stalock waited Larkin out and kept his stick in perfect position to make the save.

Three minutes into the second period, the Wings worked the puck to defenseman Jake Walman at the point. Walman danced along the blue line, faked out Anders Bjork and got a shot through that fluttered off Bjork’s stick and beat Stalock.

A Philip Kurashev trip gave Detroit a late power play and they wasted no time converting. After the Wings won the faceoff, Alex Chiasson made a slick, between-the-legs backhand pass to Dylan Larkin for a tap-in.

Six minutes into the third period, the Red Wings iced the puck and paid the price for it. On the ensuing faceoff, a rolling puck made its way to Joey Anderson, who scooped it up and fired it off the post and in for his first goal as a Blackhawk.

With just over seven minutes to go in the game, Lucas Raymond was able to get a stick on a Robert Hagg point shot that redirected past Stalock to tie the game at three.

Three minutes later, Detroit worked a set play off of a faceoff in the Blackhawks’ zone. After a clean win and a cross-ice pass, Dominik Kubalik settled the puck and beat Stalock low to the glove side for the game-winner.

The Hawks pulled Stalock late but never found the equalizer.

Game over, man. Game over.

Notes

• This was the 751st meeting between the Blackhawks and Red Wings: third most all-time.
• The Hawks had no business being in this game. The Red Wings had 14 high-danger chances. The Blackhawks had two. The Red Wings had a 67.86 percent shot share. The Blackhawks was 32.14 percent. The Red Wings had a 83.27 percent expected goals share. The Blackhawks was 16.73 percent — including an inconceivable 8.48 percent mark in the second period.

• The Blackhawks 16.73 percent expected goals mark was their worst of the season.
• Alex Stalock was great again — stopping 30 of 34 shots — and there wasn’t really much more he could have done on any of the Red Wings’ goals, except for maybe Kubalik’s, where it looked like the shot placement just fooled him.
• Wednesday was International Women’s Day and the Blackhawks put together a nice video interview with Team President Jamie Faulkner talking about her path to becoming the first female president in team history.

• And while we’re on the subject of women in hockey, Nela Lopusnova, the 15-year-old Slovakian phenom, announced today that she’ll be coming to North America next year to play hockey at a private school called Bishop Kearney in upstate New York. That’s great news for anyone who loves hockey, as we’ll get to see a lot more of her up close. If you don’t know who Nela is yet, then feel free to look up her highlights next time you want to wander down a YouTube rabbit hole. In the meantime, please enjoy this truly ridiculous starting point:

Game Charts

Three Stars

1. Dominik Kubalik (DET) — GWG
2. Alex Chiasson (DET) — 2 Assists
3. Taylor Raddysh (CHI) — 2 Goals

What’s Next

The Blackhawks travel to Sunrise, FL to take on the Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night.