Red Wings 6, Flames 2: "If I Was 6'5", I'm Not Gonna Be Able to Hide in the Weeds as Much"

Detroit, MI—By rights, it should've been a sleepy Sunday night in Detroit.  

The Lions had been pummeled earlier in the afternoon, and the Red Wings had earned an emotional win in Ottawa the afternoon prior, so they might have been forgiven for a sluggish performance.  It seemed poised to be an evening of quiet dread for the work week to come.

Instead, Alex DeBrincat—the Red Wings' diminutive sniper—brought the 17,626 fans at Little Caesars Arena from apathy to jubilation on the strength of his fifth career hat trick as Detroit raced past the Calgary Flames for a 6-2 victory.  

With three goals and an assist, DeBrincat leapt to the league lead in goals and points.  He became the first Red Wing ever with eight goals in his first six games with the franchise.  

Five wins in a row, 3-0 at home, the two highest scorers in the league, the team's best start since 2011-12—there is no shortage of reasons for euphoria in Hockeytown, but, at least for now, the biggest reason wears number 93 on his back.

After being held scoreless for the first time in his fledgling Red Wing career Saturday afternoon, DeBrincat wasted no time bringing the fans at LCA to their feet Sunday evening.  

Just 1:59 into the opening period, the winger found himself in a soft pocket of ice just beyond the perimeter of Flames' goaltender Dan Vladar's crease and slipped the puck through Vladar's five hole.  1-0, Red Wings.

Dylan Larkin had led the preceding Detroit rush and tried to connect with Lucas Raymond at the doorstep, but the pass went awry.  An activating Justin Holl recovered the puck, and there was DeBrincat with no one between him and Vladar, even at point blank range.

His next strike came 13 minutes and 33 seconds into the second period, with his team having built a 3-1 cushion on goals from Joe Veleno and Dylan Larkin before Andrew Mangiapane pulled one back for Calgary midway through the second.

This time, it was Raymond's turn to lead the rush down the right wing, and he slipped a pass inside of Noah Hanifin for Larkin upon entering the zone.  By the time Larkin received the puck, the Flames were doomed; DeBrincat lurked unmarked on the far wing below the the face-off dot, and Larkin played a pass across for the waiting winger.

DeBrincat's ensuing one-timer was effortless, a subtle sweep of the wrists more than enough to best a helpless Vladar, and the Red Wings' top line had restored the three-goal margin.  

The third entry into his hat trick ledger, the one with which the Red Wings' Cat summoned the fans' hats, came early in the third.  

Yegor Sharangovich had pulled Calgary to within two once more late in the second, but Jake Walman answered with a bomb of his own from the point three minutes and seven seconds into the game's final stanza.  

Before the PA announcer could finish spelling out the time and assists corresponding to Walman's marker, DeBrincat had brought forth the loudest ovation of the night, just 37 seconds of game time after Walman struck.

Raymond delivered a pass to DeBrincat in stride as the sniper crossed the blue line in oceans of space.  There was nothing for Chris Tanev—the lone Calgary defenseman back—nor Vladar to do.  Not tonight.

DeBrincat wired a short-side snipe past Vladar.  He grinned from ear to ear and embraced his line mates.  The hats rained down onto the ice.  6-2, Red Wings.

The scoreboard still read 6-2 as the final horn sounded on the Red Wings' fifth consecutive victory.  

As DeBrincat and Larkin manned the podium for the post-game press conference, a sense that this was all a bit too good to be true lingered.  

Could the trade that brought DeBrincat really look this good already?  Are these Red Wings, who finished 24th in the league in goals a year ago, really leading the league in goals?

"We played summer league for a couple of years together, and we scored a lot in that league, and we knew it would transfer into the NHL because why not, right?" quipped Larkin, unable to make it through the sentiment with a straight face, when asked about the process of developing chemistry with his new running mate.

"Honestly, Cat, his hockey sense is off the charts, and everyone knows he can score, but how he finds space and how he finds pockets, that honestly took a little bit to get used to," he added with an increased earnestness in his voice.

"Growing up you kind of learn, and I was always smaller than everyone obviously, and I had to find different ways to score," said DeBrincat of his ability to pop up in those pockets. "I wasn't going to power my way to the net, so had to find different areas."

"I think if I was 6'5", I'm not gonna be able to hide in the weeds as much," he added, grinning again, when asked if his small stature might actually be a blessing in disguise.

And, of course, while it was DeBrincat and Larkin who deposited four of their team's six goals (two of which featured assists for one another), the tireless work of Raymond cannot be discounted.

Raymond registered three assists, one on each leg of DeBrincat's hat trick, and proved invaluable in winning back pucks and getting the play moving in the right direction.

"What I like is they're getting offense on entries, but it's starting from the defensive zone," said Derek Lalonde after the game.  "You're getting stops in the D zone and then not cheating, and then they're getting their entries or some structure in the neutral zone turns into transition, and they're making plays on the entries."

Raymond was a vital part of that formula.  "He's got a lot of speed. He's a great hockey player, a great hockey IQ," said DeBrincat, when asked to describe Raymond's value to his line. "I definitely think an underrated part of his game is his forecheck and the way he gets pucks back and can put em in easy spots for us. He's been great in that aspect and really let us play in the O zone a lot more. His speed when he's going to the net just creates so much space. Everyone knows Larks is fast, but when you look at Ray, I think it's definitely an underrated part of his game."

Once again, the familiar caveats apply: it's only been six games, it can't stay this good for 82.  

After the power play carried the day in Ottawa, it was inevitable that unit would meet a dry spell, and tonight, Detroit went scoreless on five chances with the man advantage.  In response, the Red Wings delivered six goals at even strength.

After a rousing win in Ottawa a day prior, Detroit seemed poised for a schedule loss, as the team had to travel home from the Canadian capital while the Flames rested comfortably in Detroit, arriving earlier than their hosts.  Instead, the Red Wings put on what Larkin called their most complete five-on-five performance of the season to date.

"Last night from tonight, an immature team would've played flat from the emotions of last night, and I think our guys did a good job of protecting against that," said Lalonde.

It's true that no one will remember a five-game heater in October come April if the Red Wings can't back it up with something more over the next 76 games.  But with each passing victory, it gets harder to dismiss this start as a meaningless sample.

And, more importantly, the joy in Hockeytown Sunday night wasn't just about five wins or one hat trick.  

It was a response to seven seasons of not just missing the playoffs but of hockey that was, more often than it wasn't, devoid of joy.  And it was a fan base's collective imagination getting carried away with thoughts of more nights like this one on progressively bigger stages.

Because, through six games, Detroit fans aren't fearing the sensation of crashing back to Earth after a scorching start; they're salivating over the goals Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond have yet to create.  76 more games means 76 more goalies to torment and 76 more chances to re-kindle the euphoria tonight's performance brought about.

Sure, DeBrincat can't shoot 42.1% for 82 games, but he can shoot.  And as he was keen to return to his hometown in the offseason, the fan base that greeted him upon his arrival was even keener for a scorer like him.

His impact—on the ice and in the stands—is as obvious as it is seismic.  So even if this torrid pace can't last, hockey fans across the state of Michigan and throughout the extended Red Wing diaspora will go to sleep grinning the same way DeBrincat did all night, not just replaying this evening's display but dreaming of the goals still to come.