In their return from the All-Star break and bye week, the Red Wings turn around a third period deficit for a chaotic OT victory

Detroit, MI—Though Jake Walman would provide the game's end punctuation with a successful overtime conversion of a penalty shot, it was Lucas Raymond's burgeoning power that book-ended the Red Wings' 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

45 seconds into the night, Raymond motored past Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers (all of six-foot-eight, 229 pounds) as if he were invisible, then danced past Casey DeSmith in net to tuck home the game's first goal.

Then, on the first shift of overtime, Canucks superstar Elias Pettersson attempted to overwhelm Raymond along the wall in his own zone, only for Raymond to absorb Pettersson's check and step past him to lead Walman in for a breakaway.  Though Walman wouldn't score there, a Quinn Hughes trip sent him to center ice for a penalty shot, on which he would, clinching a victory that suggested Detroit had wasted little time returning to its torrid January form after its layoff.

Late in the second period, it seemed the Red Wings were doomed to succumb to the inevitable rust engendered by a 10-day gap between games.  Poor net-front defense allowed the Canucks to tie the score in the period's second minute, then nearly seven full minutes of hapless Detroit power play time ended in former Red Wing Filip Hronek jumping straight out of the penalty box to score a breakaway goal.  Pettersson would add a third, converting on a rebound chance at the end of an extended Vancouver stay in the offensive zone, and the Canucks led 3-1 through a bit more than 30 minutes of hockey.

"I was pleasantly surprised with how sharp we were in the first," offered Derek Lalonde after the game. "It's interesting. You can see some tendencies with these games where's someone's in rhythm and someone's coming off break. It's the second period that catches up to ya, and I think it was self-inflicted."

However, the Red Wings and their fans were reinvigorated with just over two minutes to play in the second when Alex DeBrincat—giving up a 45-pound and five inch disadvantage—fought Ian Cole after a post-whistle skirmish escalated into fireworks.  Though Cole earned the takedown, DeBrincat landed a barrage of right hands, which delighted the Detroit bench and Little Caesars Arena crowd alike.

"It was awesome," said Lalonde of DeBrincat's bout. "It's the second time he's done it...I just think when someone like that does that, it just shows some character and fighting out of your weight class like that, to handle yourself well like that, I think it just uplifts the group."

Armed with that emotional boost, Detroit received a further lifeline from Nils Hoglander, who committed an offensive zone penalty in the first minute of the third.  The Red Wings were on the way to another listless power play, but in the waning seconds of Hoglander's minor, Patrick Kane found Daniel Sprong at the doorstep from below the goal line, and Detroit reduced its deficit to 3-2.

Five minutes later, the third line of Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, and Christian Fischer showed that their sterling January form would last at least a bit longer, delivering a classic forechecking goal to tie the game.

When asked for the source of Detroit's regular third period comebacks, Lalonde offered a simple answer, answering "the group. It always comes from the group. Good on the guys."

To David Perron, the victory offered an insight into the progress Detroit has made over the course of the season and a glimpse at the path forward: "We win in different ways.  That's what's so special about us.  As our details keep getting better and better every single game, as we understand how important every puck is in the D zone, all that stuff, playing the right way, I think we're going to get better and better, and that's what is really exciting about our team."

For the Red Wings, the comeback win over the Pacific Division leaders represented one more benchmark achieved in the fight for playoff contention.  The next will come Tuesday, when Detroit takes on the Oilers in Edmonton.

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