VANCOUVER – Lucas Raymond had two goals and an assist and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard had two assists – and that was just in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Detroit Red Wings took advantage of the struggling Vancouver Canucks to the tune of a 5-2 victory at Rogers Arena, even as goalie John Gibson left after two periods with an upper-body injury and ceded the net to a rookie making his NHL debut. The victory extended the Wings' point streak to six games and improved their record to 4-3-3. Scoring came from up and down the lineup, up front and on the back end, as the Wings banked their third victory in four games.
Those who picked up a point on Thursday, Oct.
22, included Michael Rasmussen, with his first goal since Jan. 5 of this year. Albert Johansson came away with an assist, for his first point of the season.
Michal Postava, called up as an emergency earlier in the day, entered the game in the third period.
Who played
J.T. Compher returned after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury, enabling the Wings to go back to using 12 forwards after using 11 the previous five games. Emmitt Finnie centered Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson, Dylan Larkin centered Brandsegg-Nygard and Raymond, Andrew Copp was with Rasmussen and Compher, and Nate Danielson teamed with Carter Mazur and Keegan Kolesar.
On the back end, Moritz Seider partnered with Ben Chiarot, Justin Faulk with William Wallinder, and Anton Johansson with Albert Johansson.
Postava served as backup to John Gibson, as Daniil Tarasov was unavailable after tweaking something during Wednesday's practice.
Raymond heats up
Raymond, fresh off his first goal of the season Tuesday in Seattle, followed up with his second at 4:18 of the first period. Larkin fired a puck that ricocheted off the far boards, and Brandsegg-Nygard rushed to get it and send it back to Albert Johansson at the blue line. He fired a shot towards the net that deflected off Raymond for a 1-0 lead.
Wings keep things hot
Wallinder netted his second of the season when he angled a shot on net that deflected in through traffic, at 6:04 of the second period. The Wings lost some momentum during a penalty kill when Elias Petterson ripped a slap shot from the right circle. Former Wings defenseman Filip Hronek assisted.
Raymond responded with his second goal of the game, in position by the crease to win a battle for a loose puck during a pileup in the paint to make it 3-1 at 8:56, during a power play. The Wings had an 11-5 edge in shots; the Canucks did not have a shot on Gibson the last 13 minutes of the first period.
Second servings
Anton Johansson earned his third assist of the season when he fired a shot that went in off Rasmussen at 14:58 of the second period, part of a 13-0 shot barrage in that period by the Wings. That's right: The Canucks went the entire second period without a shot on goal.
Third helpings
Gibson was gone when the third period began – he later reappeared on the bench – with Postava in net. His first taste of the NHL was helped by a lackluster opponent and a lead that grew to 5-1 in his team's favor when Emmitt Finnie scored at the four-minute mark. There were sarcastic cheers from fans when the Canucks finally registered a shot on net at 6:34, their first since 7:02 of the first period.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki scored at 10:37 when he finished off a nice setup from Marco Rossi.
Next up: Flame on
The Wings open the Alberta half of their Western Conference swing with a late-night matchup against the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). It’s the Red Wings’ only visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome this season, in the final season of the NHL’s second-oldest arena, which opened in October 1983. The Wings wrap up their four-game road trip with a visit to Edmonton on Monday night before returning home to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 29.
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for ourRed Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings crush Canucks as Lucas Raymond nets 3 points
