Red Wings barely hang on to beat Flames, thanks in large part to Alex DeBrincat’s 3-point night

Red Wings barely hang on to beat Flames, thanks in large part to Alex DeBrincat’s 3-point night

Today on Lockdown, Red Wings, Detroit secures a winning road trip, getting their seventh point out of eight possible, hanging on to beat the Calgary Flames. You’re Locked on Red Wings, your daily podcast on the Detroit Red Wings, part of [music] the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome back to the Lockdown Red Wings podcast. We are your hosts, Brian Fiser and Scotty Bentley. We are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day and you can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts. Scotty, the Red Wings. Hang on to win 4 to3 over the Calgary Flames. I think it’s probably a little bit different of an episode than we thought we were going to have going into the start of the third period. But obviously, we’ll break down the start and the finish of that game and everything in between, as well as preview the game against the Edmonton Oilers. But before we can get to any of that, I do have to let the people know that today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Scotty, just to reiterate for the people as we dive into the content here, Red Wings win 4-3 over the Calgary Flames. It is their third straight victory, riding a six-game point streak. They have seven out of an eight possible po uh points to start the road trip with two games remaining upon it, which of course seven out of a possible 12 total on the road trip secures a winning points percentage on the road trip. And with the win, they are back at top the Atlantic Division after Tampa took it back last night. So hung on for the win, but vibes are still pretty high, I would argue, amongst the fan base. Scotty, what’s your main story line in this hockey game? >> Well, I think you kind of get to, you know, there’s there’s a story line for everyone in this game. If you’re uh if you’re a a glass half full individual, then I I feel like the story line is, you know, the quick start. You obviously can talk about De Brinkit three-point night, two goals, had a fantastic game, and man, like he he he’s like unreal. Like he he really is. I feel like for such a long time and even there’s still like moments now when um you know the the wings make a move or bring somebody in and you have expectations for them and and maybe they don’t live up to it or like Terasenko is a good example of that, right? Like Cat has been so good. Like he he had what half of season one where like there wasn’t a lot of goal scoring. Outside of that, he has been exactly what the Wings brought him in to do. And honestly, I think you could argue even more so um than than maybe what expectations were. We thought we were just going to get just a pure goal scorer. And while that still obviously is, you know, his brand and and and what we rely on him most for, um, he’s improved in a lot of other areas. So, I I think that that is the combination of him and then ASP continuing to look like, you know, maybe he’s arrived and obviously had a fantastic shot and goal in this hockey game. So I yeah, if you’re if you’re an optimist, then it’s it’s pretty easy to look at this game and look at the the first, you know, four goals early and and talk about how nice it is that the Wings kind of got off to that early lead. If you’re more of a pessimist, then there’s a story for you, too. And uh and you can kind of just highlight the the collapse at the end. So really nice of the Wings to kind of think of everybody in a moment like this. >> Yeah. Yeah, and I can’t help but think but because of recency bias that a lot of the focus is going to be on how that game finished >> and >> I mean they they allowed three goals and I’m not trying to be glass half empty guy because there is so much that I I do like from this game. >> Well, we got to talk about both. >> It’s it was a it was just such a weird game from start to finish, right? So like the Red Wings come out to that Rip Roarin two nothing lead right off the bat. They have the first I think five or six maybe even seven shots of the game. Then by the end of the first they’re outsh shot 11 to7. >> They were up two nothing before Calgary recorded a shot. They were already up two nothing literally before the Flames had even a shot on that. >> And then Calgary just dominated the shot attempts. But I wouldn’t say Calgary was like dominating the game. They sold out for offense a lot and they drove hard to the net. So they had a lot of opportunities which of course accumulated to expected goals. But then in the third period where they were pushing very hard and they scored three goals about you in pretty quick succession to pull it within one, the Red Wings actually had 80% of the expected goals in that period because the Red Wings were selling out for offense and giving up opportunities back the other way. So, it was like really a really weird game and that that they both teams had a lot of really high danger opportunities. The Red Wings just benefited from capitalizing on those opportunities. It’s really easy to give up three goals in one period when you have a four-goal lead. So the the the way that that game unfolded, I’m not particularly upset about the fact that they almost blew the lead. We’ve even though we’ve seen that before because some of it was I mean it was sloppiness but also like I’m they scored the four goals. So like the Brink said in the post game, they kind of almost not that he said they allowed themselves the ability to blow a four game full fourgoal lead, but you know they put themselves in a position where they could give up three goals and it didn’t cost. >> That’s why you give yourself a cushion so that you know if something happens that you can survive it. Yeah, >> it was just such a weird game where the offensive possession, the production, right? Like you think about how those goals unfolded and the second line was so crucial in this hockey game in providing those goals, you know, the the feed the the breakout from Andrew Cop to the beautiful feed from Patrick Kane cross ice to Alex to bring it for the first one and then the beautiful cycle. You were talking about growth a second ago with Axel Sandine Pelica. Pelica got that puck at the blue line and I saw him think >> because [snorts] one of the things we’ve been talking about is he early in the season just shot the puck, >> right? >> Like he’s a shooter and he just wants to shoot >> and like I saw him pause and look and he said, “Oh, there’s a guy in front of me. I’m not going to shoot it into this guy’s shin pads. I’m going to cycle it down to Patrick Kane who’s coming up the boards.” And then if you watch on that play, the weird route he takes to kind of go unnotice to go all the way down to that half wall where Alex Brinket threads the needle on a beautiful pass to him. I mean like that is more exciting to me than the finish or the pass on that goal was the hockey IQ by Axel Sandine Pelica. Something that has been touted for his offensive game when we talk about his growth. the wherewithal to not shoot it there. Cycle it back down to one of the best players to have ever played in the sport and then try and find a deceptive route where players are going to lose track of you so you can be set up for that goal. And it was a great shot and I’m really happy that he got that. And then of course to bring it again in the third second period after the wings were kind of getting hemmed in a little bit scored to make it three nothing. So the second line, you know, talk about storylines, right? We mentioned how the the games flow went, I was back and forth in terms of who was playing well, but who was scoring. Didn’t always match up, but Alex Debrink obviously three points with the third line. Uh Andrew Cop and Patrick Kane both with two assists, too. So, it was a really, really strong night from all of them. >> Yeah. And that’s obviously something that’s important going forward, right? as we’ve talked about a lot and it’s uh it goes along with what we have been seeing from this team for the last two or three weeks which is an uptick in offense which is great. The flip side of that coin has been during that stretch, you know, how how good of defense and goalending can they get on any given night because the goals have been coming in bunches and uh this was, you know, I I guess weird is maybe the word I want to use uh night to kind of analyze >> that uh that that side of the puck. I I think Gibson, man, through two periods, I was so amped to come on here and be like, he did it again like two nights in a row. Like, he’s been so good. And then it ends up being just a pretty like, you know, middle of the road performance um statistically at least when uh you know, all things considered. But I I I didn’t think I I know you had said this before we hit record, too, like I I didn’t think he was terrible. I I think as you already mentioned earlier in the show, like this was kind of a track race at one point, like it was just >> Oh, yeah. >> It was just rush after rush after rush, you know, and and you’d have your one opportunity, then the other team would go down and rush. And um >> I I think that that’s more of the the result of game flow than it is, you know, Gibson playing super poorly, >> right? Um let’s take a quick break, Scotty. And when we return, you know, you you were talking a little bit about John Gibson, but I just want to be timely. I’ll finish up with my thoughts on him before talking about I don’t know the goals against really. I think that probably ties in with the Gibson conversation, too, because I don’t I think he >> Well, I’ll save it. I’ll save it. You know how I get I don’t want to get on on a rant here. Stay tuned to segment two of Lockdown Red Wings. >> NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. 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Scotty, you finished segment two there kind of or segment one rather as we come into segment two talking about John Gibson and his performance in this one and I tend to agree with you. I think John Gibson again had a strong start. Uh this is three relatively strong starts in a row for him. Uh, and I say relatively because the first of the three was kind of it was a it was a good start to get the snowball rolling. And then obviously he had literally the best game from a goalender in the league this season with his 39 save shutout like by goal saved above expected. It’s the best game by any goalender this season. And then he had a bid for another shut out in this game and he was honestly he was so good for the Detroit Red Wings. So we talked about it. I mentioned it a little bit. But it was kind of a back and forth game. Calgary Flames apply a lot of pressure. They crash down low and they get a lot of shots on that, you know, and he was up to the task time and time again, you know. There was the Clapka wraparound attempt. There was um I didn’t write down the player name that did it, but there was another opportunity in the second period that he made a massive save on. He was great all game long and he probably deserved a better outcome than he got in this game despite still having a 9/11 save percentage in this one. Uh cuz it really didn’t start going downhill for the Red Wings until the penalty shot which happened on the Red Wings technically second power play, but it was actually their first because they had one second of a power play before Larkin took a trip in the second period cuz I think it was EMTT Finny who kind of put ASP in a bad spot along the blue line. ASP couldn’t handle the puck cleanly and Farbe came down on a breakaway that got deemed a penalty shot. They scored on it and that’s a rough way to lose a shoot a shutout streak as he had over five periods without allowing a goal coming into this game or coming into that period. And then that was kind of the spark Calgary needed. I think they understood at that point like they got the momentum from the penalty shot goal, they can score again. Then Rasmusen made a errant pass up the middle trying to generate some easy offense for the Detroit Red Wings. Was a turnover that turned into a threeon two. Coronado score to make it four to two. Uh that’s the only goal of the ones that Gibson allowed where I was like maybe he could have made the save. He was a little late in getting over, but it was a threeon two oddman rush that shouldn’t have developed if Ras Muen would have just taken a beat and like looked to see if anyone was out in the net front. It was a needless turnover like Azie was saying during the broadcast that didn’t have to happen. So, I tend to agree in that regard that while he was a little late getting over. It’s also easier to give the benefit of the doubt when you’ve been Unreal to start the game. Something else I mentioned before we hit record was that in games past when Gibson has been struggling earlier in the season, he would allow the iffy goals, the ones where you’re like, maybe he should have made the save, but you can understand why he doesn’t. It’s easier to let those go when he’s been unreal the first 40 minutes of the hockey game and your team’s leading. It’s harder to let that go when it’s the first two or three shots of the game and then he’s unreal from then on, which is something that we’ve seen where it’s like he’ll make great saves, but it’s already too little too late. In this instance, like he’s done the leg work, the team’s given him the lead. It’s like, okay, well maybe he could have made that save, but it wasn’t his fault. It’s easy to let that one go. And then the third one, weaguer just like a fourbody screen. He couldn’t pick it up through traffic. So that’s why I say I think he probably deserved a better outcome than the 9/19 he even had in this game because he played so well up until that point. The Flames, they just got momentum. They got hot and the wings kind of got a little sloppy. >> Yeah. And I I mean, as we said earlier, that’s the that is why you you score early, right? like that’s hockeyy’s a really tough game to dominate and be the the team with the upper hand through 60, man. It’s uh almost impossible to do that at the NHL level, even if you are playing against one of the worst teams in the league. So, um I I it’s not an excuse. It’s not like, oh, you you know, you score early just so you can and like you like you just do it just to do it. Like obviously there’s stuff they have to tighten up and in a perfect world, you know, you I’ve said this before, but like it’s never easy with the wings. Like there’s never just smooth sailing all the way through. There’s always got to be, you know, something. And I think that this game was kind of the epitome of that, but ultimately you’ll take three wins in a row and and you’ll take two points on the road. >> Yeah, Scotty. Simon Edison leaves this game late in the second period. Still waiting, still scouring the socials as we record here at about 12:14 in the morning shortly after the game has ended to get an update on Simon Edmonson. I’ll have to watch the postgame media availability. I’m sure somebody asked about it. Um, pretty quickly found out at the start of the third he would not return to the hockey game. We got a social media post about it. I know he blocked a couple shots off his foot. Hopefully that was precautionary because the Red Wings had a four- nothing lead. They didn’t in a game tomorrow or guess today at this point against Edmonson. They didn’t feel the need to push the envelope on his health. That’s what I’m hoping for because we’ve talked about it and Mort had another great game today and Edmonson was looking good up until his injury. They are analytically one of if not the best defensive pairs in the NHL right now. more setters having a Norris caliber season and Simon Edson has really woken up these last dozen and a half games and gotten back to the caliber we know he’s capable of. Losing Edmonson really kills your depth because that means Johansson or Shratz your top pair left with JB Jacob Bernard Docker did not play in this game cuz he’s battling an injury um something minor that got Hamick back in the lineup. I mean that immediately with those two guys out and one of those guys being Simon Edmonson, you’re looking at Gustoson getting called back up and all of a sudden you’re looking real thin on the blue line. So you you you just hope one for the human element that Simon Edmonson can remain healthy, but also for the team element, the amount of help he provides that blue line that he can that he’s just banged up a little. >> Yeah. And I I mean, you mentioned it. The the biggest I I think ripple effect of an injury that Edson would have is even honestly not even at the top pair. Like it’s just like okay, you know, obviously you he doesn’t get to be with Cider anymore. That pair, you know, steps down in production presumably, but like Cider’s still there and Cider is the the anchor and the catalyst of the blue line. It it really just kills the depth because then somebody else, Ben Sherro, whoever it is, is going to have to move up and play top pair. And then you’re not moving Sherro up to top pair so that Edmonson can play second pair. You’re moving Sherro up to top pair so that because Edmonson’s not playing at all. And I think that that would be the uh the biggest kind of ripple effect there. So yeah, hopefully it’s just they saw a four nothing lead with a period left and and a game, you know, in 24 hours and we’re like we’re going to just take it easy, but um you know, time will tell. >> Let’s head to another quick break. When we return, we’ll finish up any conversation we may have regarding this game before previewing the game against the Edmonton Oilers. So stay tuned to segment three of Lockdown Red Wings. The holidays are amazing, but they can also get overwhelming fast. travel, gifts, parties, year-end expenses. It’s really easy to lose track of your money this time of year. That’s exactly why Monarch has become such a gamecher for me. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. Rated Wall Street Journal’s best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, simple dashboard. The holiday spending category can become a lifesaver. You can see exactly what’s left in your gift and travel budget in real time. In minutes, you can check your net worth, link all your accounts, and keep track of contributions before deadlines. Monarch makes money check-in simple. Just a minute or two each week, and you’re completely up to speed. Don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code lockdown NHL at monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code lockdown NHL. Segment three lockdown Red Wings podcast. Um the only other player from this game I I want to highlight and I mentioned him very briefly a second ago of course is always Moriter as he just continues to be the Red Wings MVP all season long. He had another six blocked shots in this game. By the way, the Red Wings as a whole out blocked Calgary 27 to5, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. We’ve talked about it. If you’re blocking a lot of shots, that typically means you don’t have the puck as much and the other team is firing the puck a lot more. So, that’s something to keep in mind, but being able to block 27 shots says a lot about the team and how they’re bought into playing that style. and Morids Cider led the team with six, led the Red Wings in ice time with 28 minutes in this hockey game uh and four shots on that. Didn’t get rewarded in the stat sheet at all in this game with uh with no assists or anything like that. But just another really solid game from the Red Wings best defender and one of the best defenders in the NHL. >> Yeah. And that’s that’s a beauty, ain’t it? >> Yeah, it’s nice to say. >> It really is, Scotty. Uh, any other players you want to highlight? Obviously Larkin scored, but >> Yeah. No, I mean I we already talked to ASP. I I wanted to make sure he got his flowers. He continues to to take steps forward. Um, what were your thoughts on uh on Gibson getting a little chippy there? >> I loved it. >> I did too. >> He got he had the puck in his glove and >> some guy tried the Was it who did I have right down here? Uh I think it has Lombberg. Lombberg or Kapka, one of the two of them took a whack at Gibson. Yeah. >> And Gibson took exception. And that was a fun little scrum behind the net. There was a lot of instances in this game where I felt Calgary kind of got away with a few things. >> But uh it’s all right. Hey, we take the dub. Sometimes you got to beat the refs, too. >> Two points. >> We take two points. Uh Red Wings have another opportunity to take two points tonight as they play the Edmonton Oilers on the second half of a backtoback. an Edmonton Oilers that scored a goal with.1 seconds remaining. Conor McDavid, of course, against the Buffalo Sabres, but did ultimately fall in overtime. I believe that snapped uh a little bit of a hot streak for them at the time, having won four of their last six going into that game and two the two previous to that. Opportunity for the Red Wings to really really put a strangle hold on this road trip. Obviously, they’ve gotten seven of the last eight points. haven’t lost the game in regulation on this road trip at all cuz the only loss they have was to Columbus when they blew the lead. They’ve been playing good hockey, but Edmonton Oilers never they’ve heated up lately, Scotty. And Conor McDavid is over 40 points already. >> Well, well, okay. Yeah, that’s >> least [snorts] surprising statement ever, >> right? Yeah. Like, okay. Um, yeah. I mean, this is kind of the epitome of a a glass cannon team, too. Uh they’re toward the bottom of the NHL in uh goals allowed. I think they’re 30th or 31st just in goals allowed a game. They’re 30th or 31st in safe percentage. Um they allow a lot of goals. They just also score a lot of goals. Uh so we’ll see. I mean the last couple of years they’ve gotten around halfway through the season in both of the last couple of years. Uh they they’ve gotten, you know, a huge uptick from some goalie has come in to save the day. Uh you know, shout out uh Captain Peicard, as uh my old roommate and I used to call >> in the playoffs, but yeah, dude, they’re crazy. That was crazy last year. >> Yeah, like it it it’s just they they’ve been kind of banking on some goalie to come in and save the day like each of the last two seasons. And uh you know it’s still all for all intents and purposes like relatively early in the season, right? We’re not even at the new year yet. But um yeah, so far this season they they got off to their patented slow start and now they’re scoring a lot but still giving up a lot. And that’s it’s just going to be one of those games like it especially with the way the Wings have been like the stylistically the way the Wings have been playing. I I I would imagine that this is uh this is an over game, if you will. >> It’s not a team that they can get into a shootout with. So, obviously another game >> any of those >> Red Wings have scored four goals in the last two games uh last three games possibly if I’m [snorts] I can’t remember. It’s all jumbled up in my head. Columbus as well uh where they scored a lot of goals too but like this is not a team where you can >> expect to hold on to win four to three you know after having a big lead like >> they are going to score a lot of goals and so you’re going to have to play solid defense especially with guys like Dry Sidle and McDavid on the ice >> to make that happen. It’s funny you say like they give up a lot of goals and they score a lot of goals. They’re quite literally 16th in the NHL. smack dab in the middle in expected goal share and 15th in shot attempt share. Like they are smack dab in the middle when it comes to producing and giving up offense. But of course they are led by Conor McDavid who has what 44 points. Leandryle has 38 but their goalending is is very predictably awful. Steuart Skinner has a 887 save percentage and Calvin Pequard has a 851 save percentage. I mean, this is every single year. This is just the Edmonton Oilers. And, you know, they just it’s kind of amazing that they know every year what their flaw is and what they need to do to fix it. Not the team itself, but like coaching and general management. And they just And I get it too to some degree because you have like two of the best offensive players in the league. So, you want to kind of build around that, but you can’t add like And I digress. They have the third best power play in the league right now at 32%. Where’s this PK at? Is this going to be one of those PKs that is like kind of inexplicably >> that’s like middle of the road. It’s it it doesn’t >> it’s 22nd. It’s bottom 10 in the league. Bottom 11 in the league. >> Really a ton of narrative. >> All right. So, their entire team fits the narrative. Um I will say not to give the Red Wings an excuse here, but this does kind of feel like a scheduled loss. Second half of a backtoback against a very high offensive team. second half of a backto back and game three of a West Coast. >> I guess the first one was technically in Columbus, but like it is, you know, the the West Coast plus Seattle. >> Game three, brother. It’s game five, I think. >> Oh, right. I forgot about Seattle. Yeah, >> this is game five of their six game road trip and it’s the second half of a back toback. So, >> forgot about the Seattle game. >> It It feels like a scheduled loss, so that would make it all the sweeter if they manage to squeak out a win somehow. >> Yeah. Yeah. And like you you know you know what the game’s going to look like. That that’s the craziest thing about playing Edmonton is like you know what you’re signing up for when the puck drops and you know over half the time they’re just so talented that you know most teams still can’t beat them. >> Every team in the NHL knows what Edmonton is and they still made backtoback Stanley Cup >> finals. Right. Exactly. So you uh Yeah. I mean we we’ll see. It’ll be a kind of a cool like measuring stick of, you know, um where the team is at. You know, the they’ve obviously had success the last few games, but they haven’t played uh incredible competition, but I guess like Edmonton’s a weird team that, you know, doesn’t do well in the first half and then like whatever, you know, bad defense, whatever. Whatever. So, we’ll see. >> Whatever. Whatever. >> Whatever. Whatever. There’s your uh TLDDR. Scotty, do you have any final thoughts on this hockey game? >> I don’t think so, man. We ball. >> We do ball. We’ll be back with a new episode tomorrow recapping the game against the Edmonton Oilers. So stay tuned for that. Same time, same place. It’s your team >> every day. >> [music]

It ended up being way tighter than we all probably felt, but Detroit hangs on to beat Calgary 4-3, giving Detroit 7/8 possible points on the road trip. Alex DeBrincat’s 3 points certainly was a big driver in this win. Simon Edvinsson was injured in this game, waiting for word on the severity. John Gibson was solid again. #LGRW

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