RECAP: Red Wings’ comeback 4-3 shootout victory over Sharks to end three-game homestand a ‘huge momentum builder’

DETROIT – Ending their three-game homestand on an upswing before their annual trek through the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, the Detroit Red Wings stretched their point streak to four straight contests by rallying for a 4-3 shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

“That’s a big win for us,” said Emmitt Finnie, who recorded a goal and an assist for his second multi-point game in his last three contests. “I think we stuck with it and we knew we were going to get some chances. We just needed a couple breaks.”

Goaltender John Gibson made 31 saves in regulation and overtime before turning away all three shootout attempts for Detroit (3-3-2; 8 points), which earned its first third-period comeback win and first multi-goal comeback win of the season. Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots for San Jose (4-3-1; 9 points).

“I think we’ve been showing some resiliency,” Gibson said. “We’ve been down, but we haven’t been panicking. We’ve been finding ways to score the goals to tie the game and finding ways to win. Hopefully, we can build on that and take it to the road.”

Gibson came up with some huge stops right off the bat — he even turned back the clock midway through the first period, making a pad-stacking save on Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini from the high slot just seconds after the first power play of the game expired — and that seemed to spark the Red Wings, who struck first at 12:47.

“That first power play that they had, they really moved it around quick,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “We got stuck out there, tired, and (Gibson) had to make some incredible saves.”

Towards the end of the Red Wings' second look on the man advantage, Michael Rasmussen worked from below the goal line and found Emmitt Finnie in the right face-off circle. Finnie then passed the puck to Justin Faulk at the point, and the 34-year-old defenseman’s shot beat a screened Nedeljkovic for a 1-0 lead. It was Faulk’s second goal of the season.

“He’s played for so long and he used to be that young guy, and now he’s mentored with a lot of different teams he’s been on,” McLellan said of Faulk. “So, coming in here and having that assignment – (Seider) takes one pair, he takes the other – it’s worked pretty well for us. He’s given us some real good nights.”

But San Jose pushed back, and Detroit found itself trailing after Dmitry Orlov’s power-play goal it with 2:01 remaining in the first period and Celebrini’s top-corner blast of a slapshot from the edge of the left face-off circle made it 2-1 at 4:55 of the second. Later in the frame, the Red Wings failed to convert on back-to-back power plays but held strong during the Sharks’ fourth of the night to keep it a one-goal contest.

“Again, we weren’t perfect,” McLellan said. “It was somewhat ugly, but they have a lot of talent on that team, and we did snuff them out when we had to. When we didn’t, the goaltender made some saves. They had some real good chances they missed the net on, but same thing goes at the other end. So, we stuck with it.”

Just 2:48 into the third period, Ivar Stenberg converted a pass from Alex Wennberg from all alone in front of the Red Wings’ crease on the power play that gave the Sharks a two-goal cushion. Emmitt Finnie was able to pull Detroit back within one just 2:12 later, slipping in behind the opposing defense at the backdoor and tapping in Michael Brandsegg-Nygård’s shot attempt to get it to 3-2. Moritz Seider going thing going on the play, jumping into the rush and knocking the puck down with his hand while skating into the offensive zone before getting it to Brandsegg-Nygård.

“A great play by (Seider),” said Finnie, who has three goals this season. “It started with (Alex DeBrincat). He made a good flip up the middle, a good kickout by (Seider) and I was just trying to go to the net with my stick on the ice. (Michael Brandsegg-Nygård) made a great play.”

With Gibson pulled for an extra skater, DeBrincat tapped the puck home during a scramble in front of San Jose's net to tie it 3-3 with 1:33 remaining in regulation. The assists on DeBrincat’s team-leading fifth goal of the season went to Viktor Arvidsson and Seider.

“He finds spots,” Raymond said of DeBrincat. “He’s a threat to shoot it and then with his shot, it has a really good chance of going in. That’s a big goal and a big part of his game.”

The Red Wings survived one more Sharks power play in overtime, and Lucas Raymond’s lone shootout goal gave Detroit its second home-ice victory in as many games.

“It’s a huge momentum builder,” Raymond said. “Get the crowd in and get the energy, and it brings us so much. It was awesome, even in overtime watching those guys battle out there. (Seider) - I don’t know how many shots he blocked, but it was awesome to see, and I think that says a lot about our team right there.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will take on the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on Seider

“What can I say? You have to be here watching it and appreciating it because he’s a machine. He plays heavy, hard minutes. And I’ve said this before, he’s like a diesel truck. He never gets tired. He just keeps going. He sells out for his team, blocking shots. And then he goes out and does it again… It’s pretty inspiring.”

Gibson on what a win like Saturday’s does for the team’s confidence

“We’re just trying to stack them together. We knew we wanted to finish the homestand on a good note. Nice to put two wins together.”

Gibson on seeing Seider put his body on the line

“He does it all the team. I think it stands out more than 4-on-3, big blocks, but he’s back there doing that night in and night out. I think that says a lot about him and his leadership, and just being able to sacrifice every night. It takes a lot, and we know he’s going to do that night in and night out.”

Raymond on if it helps facing a goaltender he’s familiar with in a shootout situation

“Sometimes, it might a little bit. You know, you go against them in practice for a long period of time. Obviously, they have certain moves they try to go to, but I feel like you can’t really overthink it. You got to try to make the goalie adapt to you and just stick with what you know and what makes you comfortable.”

Raymond on still seeking his first goal this season

“I go out there every night and I want to score. I want to contribute to the team in that way, and obviously when things aren’t going your way, you have got to look at things. But I think it’s easier now to kind of see it as a big picture. Right now, I feel like I’m getting a lot of looks and creating a lot of chances.”

Finnie on what’s been working the past few games for the Red Wings

“I think we’re starting to figure some things out. Our PK still needs a little bit of work, but defensively we don’t give up much at 5-on-5. So, if we keep doing that, we’re going to keep getting points.”