RECAP: Red Wings rise to occasion, emerge from ‘tough road game’ with 4-2 win over Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Not only exceeding both their win and point totals from the entire 2024-25 campaign, but the Detroit Red Wings also -- most importantly -- kept pace in the crowded race for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot with a crucial 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday night.

“I think right from the start, we played hard,” said Alex DeBrincat, who scored two goals for his seventh multi-goal game and 22nd multi-point performance of the season. “We matched their physicality and intensity. I thought we played pretty well for the whole game. Obviously, third period, they came on us a little bit and it took us a little bit to settle in to that speed. But, overall, right after their goal we score another one and get a big two points.”

Goalie John Gibson made his 13th straight start and had 32 saves, including a point-blank one on Luke Glendening’s breakaway chance early in the opening frame, for Detroit (40-27-8; 88 points). As for netminder Samuel Ersson, he turned aside 15 shots for Philadelphia (37-26-12; 86 points).

“It’s a great, great effort,” said Patrick Kane, who recorded a goal and two assists for his 13th multi-point contest and second three-point showing of the campaign. “Obviously, right from the beginning of the game, we knew it was going to be a tough road game. It’s hockey, right? Nothing’s going to go perfect throughout the game, whether it’s them tying it up or pressuring us there in the third. We knew we had to have some momentum shifts go the other way.”

 A tripping call on Sean Couturier against captain Dylan Larkin gave the Red Wings their second power play of the night with 1:28 left in the first period, and it didn’t take the long to make it count -- just 17 seconds -- as DeBrincat accepted Kane’s centering feed and beat Ersson with a snap shot to the glove side for the 1-0 lead. Moritz Seider picked up a secondary assist on DeBrincat’s first of the night, giving the German blueliner seven helpers in his last six games.

Detroit went 1-for-2 on the man advantage and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill at Xfinity Mobile Arena, a positive step forward from last Saturday’s loss at Little Caesars Arena when Philadelphia finished 2-for-2 in both special-teams situations.

“Larkin had a couple of looks on the first [power play],” Kane said. “Obviously, Cat was open there…He had some time and space to get that one.”

Thirty-one seconds into the second period, Tyson Foerster, appearing in his first game since Dec. 1 because of an arm injury, was in the right place at the right time when he tied it 1-1. That’s because Owen Tippet partially fanned on a shot from above the right face-off circle, but the miscue worked in the Flyers’ favor as the puck slid into the slot where Foerster pulled it back before beating Gibson.

Restoring Detroit’s lead just before the second intermission, Lucas Raymond buried his 25th goal of the season to make it 2-1 at 18:29. The sequence started with Simon Edvinsson using his 6-foot-6, 222-pound frame and stickhandling skills to protect the puck along the wall deep in the offensive zone before his centering pass went to J.T. Compher. Although the puck deflected off Compher’s skate, it trickled down to Raymond along the goal line and the Swedish forward capitalized on the open angle.

Justin Faulk left with 5:48 remaining in the second period and didn’t return for the third because of a lower-body injury. According to Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan, the 34-year-old blueliner will be evaluated on Friday.

“The five that continued to play got a lot of minutes, and they certainly had their push,” McLellan said. “So, we had to manage and make sure the shift length was proper, especially for our D, and our forwards took care of them for the most part.”

Detroit opened up a two-goal lead for the first time at 9:37 of the third period when Kane finished a 2-on-1 rush following a Philadelphia turnover at center ice. Andrew Copp and Albert Johansson assisted on Kane’s 14th tally of the campaign.

“I thought Sanheim was coming at me at first, and then he kind of backed off so had some space to go in and shoot," said Kane, who is now one goal away from tying Jean Beliveau (507) for 46th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

Travis Konecny’s tally at 10:29 of the final frame was initially waved off for goaltender interference, but Flyers quickly challenged the play -- they believed Jacob Bernard-Docker pushed the 29-year-old forward into the crease and therefore initiated any contact with Gibson after the puck was in the back of the net. The ruling on the ice was overturned, pulling the hosts within 3-2.

“It seemed like they had a lot of momentum after that call,” Kane said. “The building was kind of rocking, then we score on the next shift after so that’s just a huge moment.”

But like Kane said, the Red Wings got that one right back just 15 seconds later. Assisted by Copp and Kane, DeBrincat sent a shot from along the goal line that made its way over Ersson’s shoulder for what stood as the 4-2 final. DeBrincat continues to lead Detroit in goals (39), points (80), power-play goals (14) and shots (269) through 75 contests.

“You know, going forward, winning and losing is contagious,” McLellan said. “When you’re losing, you kind of get down and you question yourself. Maybe you question your system or linemates. A win can turn that and go the other way, so we worked real hard tonight. We had a formula that we thought would give us a chance at success, and that really shouldn’t change at all as we head to New York. We’ll get a good, quick practice in tomorrow.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will open a weekend back-to-back set as well as wrap up this three-game road trip when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.

WHAT WAS SAID

Kane on his line’s performance in Philadelphia

“I think we can create a lot when we get the puck. That’s the biggest thing – we kind of know where each other are on the ice. It wasn’t the cleanest game for us through the first two periods, and I think us three want to thrive in those situations where it’s counted on for us to step up. Did a really good job in the third there of creating some offense, especially when they had a lot of momentum against us and some pressure shifts against us.”

Kane on if he felt they had some space on the power play to make plays

“They pressure quite a bit in certain times. I think last time we played them, we had some looks, kind of backdoor, so we knew maybe they’d be covering that a little bit. So, tried to take advantage of maybe the middle of the ice a little bit today.”

DeBrincat on how much special-teams emphasis there was going into Thursday night’s game

“It’s always an emphasis. I think it’s a huge part of our game. I thought we did a good job just taking one penalty today and, obviously, we got our two power plays and scored on one. It’s a huge part of our game.”