#LGRW Final: Detroit loses 2020-21 season opener to Carolina, 3-0

DETROIT -- After a 310-day layoff, there's naturally going to be some rust before getting your legs back and finding your rhythm, and that was exactly the case for the Detroit Red Wings as they lost their season opener, 3-0, against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.

The Hurricanes competed in the playoff bubble last season, they were used to an atmosphere with no fans and they showed it, blanking the Wings in both teams' first game of the season and outshooting Detroit, 43-14, in the process.
The Red Wings and new captain Dylan Larkin actually came out the gate fast, dictating the pace in the first couple minutes of the 2020-21 season, but Carolina drew first blood 3:38 into the period when Nino Niederreiter found himself wide open in front of the net and potted a shot over new Detroit goalie Thomas Greiss' right shoulder to earn a 1-0 lead.
Carolina forward Sebastian Aho, who now has 14 points in 12 career games against the Red Wings, earned the assist on the opening goal.
Wings coach Jeff Blashill said despite the overall result, he was encouraged with how his team came out of the gate.
"Very early in the game, I thought we were playing really well," said Blashill, who was coaching his 400th NHL game. "I thought we came out and did a lot of the things we need to do. We didn't get lots of chances early, but until they scored, I thought we played well."
Detroit picked up the physicality to start the second period, responding to several hits doled out by Carolina in the opening frame, and Greiss stood tall, keeping the Wings within striking distance for most of the game.

One of the biggest highlights for both teams was late in the second period when Red Wings forward Sam Gagner dished out a huge hit that Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton took exception to. The two dropped the gloves and squared up for a brief fight, after which both benches erupted with admiration, feverishly tapping their sticks against the boards in appreciation for both fighters.
Greiss kept the Red Wings close until Detroit was called for two consecutive penalties late in the third period, allowing Carolina to take advantage of the second power play as forward Ryan Dzingel redirected a shot from defenseman Jake Gardiner to take a 2-0 lead.
The Red Wings were forced to pull Greiss with 2:12 left in the game, and Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov shut the door with an empty-net goal on a dribbling shot from near center ice with 1:05 to go.
Blashill said the Wings put themselves in a bad position late in the game and were forced to press.
"As it went into the third period, I thought we pressed a little bit. We tried to force plays," Blashill said. "As a result, our puck management wasn't good enough. We turned pucks over, and then you just end up defending too much, and then next thing you know, you're killing two penalties in a row and they score."
Blashill said one of the biggest bright spots of the game was Greiss' performance, which allowed the Red Wings to stay competitive until late in the third.
"I thought Thomas played well. He made the big saves at big moments to keep it a 1-0 game," Blashill said about Greiss, who made 40 saves in the matchup. "Stopped the ones he was supposed to stop. The first goal, he doesn't have much of a chance on. So I thought he did the things that he needed to do. He did keep us in there and give us a chance to stay in the game."
Larkin said the game was much closer than the final result, noting that barring a few costly mistakes, Detroit played toe to toe with Carolina.
"I made a poor mistake with the puck on their first goal. They get extended power play time late in the third and capitalize," the Wings' captain said. "You take away those two mistakes and it's a very close hockey game. The beauty of it is we come out and we play Saturday and we win, we get two points back on those guys and even it up."
The Red Wings will look to rebound and get their first win of the season in the series finale as they host the Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.