The first two draft picks in the 2007 NHL Draft carried the Detroit Red Wings to 4-3 victory Saturday night in Seattle.
Patrick Kane, who went No. 1 overall to Chicago, scored the winner, after James van Riemsdyk (who was picked by Philadelphia) tied the score late in the second period.
Kane is inching closer to significant milestones and that’s a good thing for the Wings. Kane’s goal at 17 minutes, 31 seconds of the third period Saturday broke the tie.
Kane’s fifth goal, and second goal in two games, was goal No. 497 in his illustrious career. Alex DeBrincat carried the puck into the zone and found Kane in the slot, where Kane wristed a shot past goaltender Joey Daccord.
“It’s been the same for the 20 years I’ve known him,” said van Riemsdyk of Kane’s clutch goal to FDSN. “When the game is on the line, he’s the guy you want the puck on his stick. He usually comes through. A world-class shot there and a big two points for us.”
Another key goal came from van Riemsdyk, who tied the score 3-3 with 28 seconds left in the second period. It was van Riemsdyk’s third consecutive game with a goal, and his fifth goal in six games (six goals overall).
Thanks to a bad Seattle pinch defensively van Riemsdyk found himself on a two-on-one rush. Using Michael Rasmussen as a decoy, van Riemsdyk kept the puck and wristed a shot past Daccord.
BOX SCORE: Red Wings 4, Kraken 3
“Big goal for our team to score and make it a 3-3 game,” Kane told reporters of van Riemsdyk’s goal. “It settled everything down.”
Goaltender John Gibson stopped 24 shots to earn the victory. The Wings (15-11-3) moved to 1-0-1 on this six-game trip, which next goes Monday to Vancouver.
Dylan Larkin left Saturday’s game midway in the second period after taking a redirected shot to the left side of his face. Larkin was clutching the side of his face as he slowly skated off the ice, immediately heading to the locker room.
But Larkin returned to start the third period with a facial shield — and what appeared to be a puffy cheek and lip.
“He’s the heartbeat of the team,” van Riemsdyk said. “What he brings, there was no doubt he’d make it back out for us. That’s the kind of warrior he is.”
Seattle took its first lead of the game on Chandler Stephenson’s fifth goal, at 12:45. Adam Larsson’s shot from the point glanced off Stephenson in the slot, and off Gibson’s head and into the net, giving Seattle a 3-2 lead.
Emmitt Finnie (power play, sixth goal) and Andrew Copp (second goal) added Wings goals. Brandon Montour (sixth), Adam Larsson (second) and Chandler Stephenson (fifth) countered for Seattle.
“The encouraging thing is we got out of a bit of a rut in the second period,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan told reporters afterward. “The disturbing part is why are we in that rut? We can play better defensively than we did (in the second period). We challenged the group between periods and they did.”
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan