Evgeny Svechnikov creates late memory at Joe Louis Arena in NHL debut
By @StefanKubus –
Evgeny Svechnikov had no idea whether or not he would get a chance to play a regular-season game at Joe Louis Arena.
Yet on Monday night, the 20-year-old Russian winger not only made his NHL debut at The Joe in the first of three remaining home games, but scored the lone goal in a seven-round shootout to help lift the Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Playing alongside Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader for most of the game, Svechnikov recorded one hit and a shot on goal in 13:10 of ice time. But it was in the shootout where Svechnikov showcased the type of offensive magic he can provide.
“I just wanted to score so badly, it was so loud, and I was excited and, you know, just did my thing,” Svechnikov said.
“I think it’s just so much memories I think. Just so fun being in this locker room playing at this rink, it just means so much, appreciate being in this moment right now, and it’s just unbelievable.”
Svechnikov said he knew what move he was going to since it worked for him in the past. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill did his homework on Svechnikov, too.
“We had talked – Randy Cleves in Grand Rapids who handles the statistics down there, so I think he was 2-for-5 down there so we knew he had done a pretty good job, so I thought I’d give him a try and obviously it was a great move,” Blashill said.
“I thought he did a real good job overall in his game. I thought he showed what I talked about earlier, he’s got real good strength on the puck and an ability to make a play, so he’s heavy in the O-zone. I thought it was a good match with Larks; it gives them a little more O-zone time. I liked his game.”
“I thought that was awesome,” Jensen said. “He had a great effort all game, he played so hard, a lot of raw emotion, and he went out there with confidence in that shootout and buried it, so I was really excited for him.”
Captain Henrik Zetterberg said it was an ideal ending for the kid he called “Geno.”
“You can’t really end it any better way unless maybe it was an overtime goal, but going in like that, a standing ovation, has got to feel pretty good for him,” Zetterberg said.
When it came to differences between the NHL and AHL, Svechnikov cited speed, strength and smarts as the biggest factors.
“I can say first that it’s a little bit faster for myself and for some guys it’s different,” Svechnikov said of the difference between the NHL and AHL. “I think it’s a lot faster, it’s for sure stronger, and I think guys are in the right spots everywhere.”
Following Monday’s game, Blashill said Svechnikov would get another chance to play Tuesday night in Ottawa. What matters now is how the budding winger responds in his second game.
“I think it helps you confidence-wise, but in the end, it’s just one play, so he’s gotta continue – he’s gonna get a chance to play tomorrow, and he’s gotta make sure he builds off it and has a real good game,” Blashill said. “I think the second, third, those types of games are harder than he first sometimes because of the energy level you have coming into the first, but I thought he was calm out there, I thought he was smart, I thought he did a good job. I don’t want to get too overexcited, but I was happy with his game.”