Remember when everyone wrote off Andrew Copp? He’s been proving us otherwise lately, after scoring two more points, both assists, in the Detroit Red Wings’ win over the Washington Capitals. Copp took 23 shifts and skated for 15:23 and now has 18 points and 15 assists in 36 games.

Copp also has nine points, two goals, and a plus-10 in December, and there are still some games to be played. His production is exactly what the Red Wings needed from someone centering that second line.

Do you know who else was a good decision to put on that same line? John Leonard, who finished the game with a goal and a plus-1 across 12:57 of ice time and 19 shifts. Leonard saw Caps’ goaltender Logan Thompson’s bad rebound off Simon Edvinsson’s rush and did the rest to open the scoring 65 seconds into the game. It was almost all Red Wings from there, thanks to his efforts.

Detroit Red Wings’ depth scoring is once again making its mark

Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider were a couple of big names who found the net, but hats off to James van Riemsdyk and Elmer Soderblom, who both picked up the slack in Saturday’s win. van Riemsdyk wasted little time, scoring 1:37 into the second period to give the Wings a 2-0 lead off of helpers from Copp and Seider.

Soderblom made it 3-0 at the 5:55 mark with a backhand while Marco Kasper and Albert Johansson took credit for the assists. Good to see Kasper getting more involved in the scoring, and ditto for Johansson. Two youngsters Wings fans are hoping to see produce more. 

John Gibson once again showed up and delivered, stopping 24 shots on 26 attempts. He now has 11 wins on the year, a 0.892 save percentage, and a 3.01 GAA. Far from Vezina numbers, but Gibson remains in vintage form. 

Moritz Seider is Norris-bound and there’s no question

As mentioned in Friday’s news roundup, Nestor Quixtan talked about how analytics are showing Moritz Seider’s rise to Norris contention. Seider only added to his credibility when he finished Saturday’s game with two points and a plus-3.

Seider now has 26 points, five goals, and a plus-12 in 36 games, putting him on pace for between 59 and 60 this season with double-digit goals. Will it be enough to beat out Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes? Not yet, but Seider’s making his case.

He’ll have another crack at it soon enough, as the Wings host the Capitals in Detroit on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Should Seider and the crew bring their A-Game once again, look for them to put up a similar result. And they’re going to need to, with how tight the Atlantic Division still is this season.