Powered by a 29-save shutout from Alex Lyon, the Detroit Red Wings won 1-0 Tuesday night over the Islanders on a night where nothing but the goaltender seemed to go right
Powered by a 29-save shutout from Alex Lyon, the Detroit Red Wings won 1-0 Tuesday night over the Islanders on a night where nothing but the goaltender seemed to go right
In the first period of the Detroit Red Wings' 1-0 Monday night win on Long Island, Alex Lyon stopped a Noah Dobson point shot with his blocker. It would've been an ordinary, except Lyon lost his balance as he knocked it away, but despite the momentary lapse in grace, he steered the puck away from danger. That's how Detroit saw its way past the host New York Islanders, with nothing resembling style points and instead just effective enough to achieve the desired end.
Of course, as much as the moment encapsulated the Red Wings' collective performance, it belied the strength of Lyon's individual effort. The 31-year-old former Yale Bulldog played with utter command on a night on which he faced heavy pressure, reading the play with such alacrity that it almost seemed he had stopped each Islander volley before the shooter in question even knew he would pull the trigger. Meanwhile, in front of him, Detroit's skaters did little to inspire confidence.
The hosts out-shot the Red Wings 29-11. While it is true that Detroit spent most of the night (51:06 to be precise) protecting a lead, to suggest a 1-0 margin in the first 10 minutes of a regular season game in October necessitates three periods of absorbing pressure as the surest path to victory strains credulity. Patrick Kane scored on the Red Wings first shot of the game (by which point, the Islanders had already tested Lyon five times), and Detroit hardly threatened again.
On Saturday, the Red Wings won with a classic "greasy" road brand of hockey. The Predators forced them to defend for long stretches and survive difficult moments. There might have been a few Lyon bail-outs following lapses, but Detroit also had spells of carrying play and applying pressure of its own. At no point Tuesday night did the Red Wings replicate that feat. Even their lone power play yielded merely a single shot on net.
Nonetheless, there are two unambiguous positives to take from Tuesday's game: Lyon and the two points. On the former subject, there can hardly be sufficient praise. Lyon went to the home of one of the NHL's most feared goaltenders in the Isles' Ilya Sorokin and stole a game. His best moment of the night came on a point-blank back-door chance for Mathew Barzal, who went from a wide open net to nothing to shoot at but Lyon's out-stretched glove in the instant it took him to corral the pass. The powerful kick off his right skate showed off the anticipation and lateral mobility that made Lyon so effective all evening. Simply put, his performance is the only aspect of Detroit's effort that meaningfully explains the result.
And that result, the two points, is the one thing the Red Wings needed from Long Island. Now through six games, Detroit sits at .500, 3-3-0. That record is, if anything, a bit flattering to the Red Wings' form, but there's no taking back the six banked points over that possibility. .500 is nothing to boast about, but it's nothing to panic over either, and two games ago, panic seemed the only rational reaction to Detroit's start to the year. Moving forward to the next 76 games, however, it's clear the Red Wings must improve, in the standings and their night-to-night performances, if they are to get where they aspire.
Also from THN Detroit
What Is the State of the Red Wings Goaltending Room Through Five Games?
Red Wings Bounce Back for "Greasy" 5-2 Win in Nashville
Penalty Kill Woes Put Red Wings In A Bind
Roster Update: Kasper Set for Season Debut as Detroit Battles Injury & Illness