A recap, the tale of the tape, and sound bites from the Red Wings 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 1 from Traverse City

From Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, the Detroit Red Wings dropped their opening game of the 2023 Prospects Tournament, falling 4-2 at the hands of the Dallas Stars.  Here's everything you need to know from the night's action:

Recap

Despite losing 4-2, the young Red Wings carried play for most of their Traverse City opener against Dallas.  

Detroit outshot the Stars 34-28 by night's end, and that advantage reflected the Wings' ability to play on their terms.  The obvious problem for Detroit all night was turnovers, with poor puck management affording the Stars a route into a game in which they were otherwise listless.

Elmer Soderblom notched the game's first goal 7:56 into the first, but Red Wing turnovers led directly to a pair of Dallas goals (first from Gavin White, then from Matthew Seminoff) 1:27 apart late in the opening period.

Of course, you never want to see turnovers, but, to some extent, this is par for the course when it comes to September hockey.  Players are re-acclimating to game pace, and mistakes are bound to happen.  You don't want to see them repeated Saturday against Columbus, but it's a forgivable start.

Sebastian Cossa would likely want both goals back but neither was a glaring error on his part; instead, it was more a case of failing to rise to the difficult spots that his teammates left him in.  This early in the season, workload feels as important for a goaltender as results, and Cossa's night ended halfway through the second having made 14 saves on 16 shots.  It was a solid if unspectacular start to his 2023-24.

In the second, tensions escalated and Dallas began to distance itself.  

Early in the period, Detroit's Connor Punnett (an undrafted defenseman for the OHL's Barrie Colts) threw a heavy open-ice hit that prompted Stars defenseman Artem Grushnikov to drop the gloves.

Dallas' Chase Wheatcroft extended the lead to 3-1 at the period's 12:08 mark but then committed a double minor for high sticking Elmer Soderblom.  Late in that power play, Detroit (which had failed to convert on a lengthy first period 5-on-3) pulled back to one on the strength of a heavy Antti Tuomisto clapper from the point.

In the third, Detroit continued to generate decent opportunities but couldn't capitalize.  Matej Blumel put the game to bed with an empty net goal with just under two minutes to play.

Red Wing fans received a minor scare when Carter Mazur did not suit up for the third period, but, per team reporter Daniella Bruce, the lower body injury does not appear serious.

Tale of the Tape

The good news for Red Wing fans is that, despite the injury scare and the defeat, several top Detroit prospects delivered strong performances, so let's take a closer look.

Before his injury, Mazur played alongside Marco Kasper and Alexandre Doucet on the Detroit top line.  While the trio didn't convert for a goal (and Doucet probably should have at one point), it did cause problems for the Stars in the offensive zone.  Kasper stood out for his intensity, even in a glorified September scrimmage.  

On this sequence from the game's opening minutes, you can get a sense of Kasper's forechecking intensity.  Kasper pursues a dump-in with vigor and anticipates Dallas goaltender Remi Poirier's pass to Gavin White (74 in green).

From there, he does outstanding work to maintain leverage and advantageous body position to keep possession, with Mazur arriving to provide puck support.  Mazur and Doucet combine to create a cycle chance for Kasper.

Though Kasper can't quite connect and the puck trickles to neutral ice, Detroit wastes no time in re-gaining the offensive zone and getting back to creating off the cycle.  Mazur's continued strong work in possession allows the Red Wings to make a change in the offensive zone as they continue to apply pressure.

This is winning hockey in the National Hockey League.  From Kasper's effort in retaining body position on White to start the sequence to Mazur's patience and maturity to set up that change, these are the type of subtle plays that help teams win games in the NHL.  Even if they weren't rewarded for their work with a goal, this is outstanding hockey from Detroit's top line.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRvayOgold0[/embed]

Soderblom's first period goal offers an example of a different type of winning NHL hockey.  The finish is little more than a tap-in, nothing out of the ordinary, but the play Soderblom makes to facilitate the puck along to his line-mates (Nate Danielson and Cross Hanas) is excellent.

A major question facing Soderblom's fledgling career is whether he can skate at a high enough level to contribute to an NHL team.  On this sequence, Soderblom shows that even in spots where he's giving up a speed advantage, he can use his frame and reach to make plays.

Soderblom is pursuing Dallas defender Jacob Murray (67 in green) into the corner for a dumped puck.  Murray has a head start and positional advantage, but Soderblom is able to cut him off as the pair head toward the end boards and prevent the Dallas D man from making a play.

I'm not sure Soderblom even gets a touch on the puck, but his effort and leverage prevent Murray from making a play, and instead, the puck continues around the boards for Danielson and then Hanas.  Instead of a chance for a clean Dallas exit, Detroit gets the opportunity to pursue offense, and the Red Wings capitalize.

To be an effective NHLer, Elmer Soderblom needs to be a dominant player along the boards, and this is an excellent example of him doing just that.  He wins a puck for Detroit that he doesn't really have any business winning because of his strong leverage.

From there, Soderblom heads to the back post and receives an immediate reward for his effort in the form of a lay-up for the game's opening goal.  It's great to see a player reap the reward of their labor so quickly, and it's an encouraging start to the towering Swede's season.

Sound Bites

Unsurprisingly, the Red Wings post-game message centered around the team's costly turnovers.

“The stress [at Friday’s practice] will be puck management,” head coach Dan Watson said after the game. “Live to see another day at times, instead of trying to make some of those hope plays, or being careless with the puck in the wrong situations, D-zone blue lines, O-zone blue lines. It’ll be a good video session, for sure.”

That message from Watson reinforced the sense that being plagued by turnovers this early in the year is neither a surprise nor a catastrophe, but it's not something Detroit wants to linger either.

Danielson, the first of the Wings' two 2023 first rounders, offered a similar assessment.

“The message after the game was puck management,” he said. “It’s something we need to do a better job of that kind of cost us tonight, so it’s something we will definitely address tomorrow in practice and heading into the weekend.”

At the end of the day, it's a lot easier to swallow turnovers dooming an otherwise strong performance in September than it might be in April.  

Detroit will get the chance to improve on its puck management on Saturday afternoon when the Wings tangle with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who routed Toronto 7-3 in their tournament opener Thursday afternoon.