The Detroit Red Wings began the season with an unusually heavy home schedule. The final game of that stretch comes Saturday night when they host the San Jose Sharks.
Detroit opened the season with four straight home games. Following its first road contest, the Red Wings returned for a three-game homestand.
They haven’t protected home ice particularly well, as their 2-1 victory over winless Philadelphia on Thursday was only their second home win.
Defenseman Anton Johansson had a memorable night, scoring his first NHL goal.
“It was awesome (to get the win), that was the most important thing,” Johansson said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit with the wins, but I feel we’ve been playing all right. It’s finally nice to get it done.”
Center Andrew Copp, who contributed just one assist during the first six games, scored the game-winner in the third period.
“You’re not going to get Grade A chances night after night — this league is too tight-checking — but they have to start going in at some point,” Copp said. “I’ve had some good chances and missed my spot by a couple of inches here or there. Then you’re kind of fighting it or gripping the stick, so it’s good to see one go in, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
With a four-game road trip looming, the Red Wings could use another win to build momentum. Detroit entered Thursday’s game on a three-game skid, including losses in a shootout and overtime.
“Even in the three losses, other than Seattle (6-3 defeat), we didn’t give up a lot and played pretty decent games,” Copp said. “There’s just that extra two percent, like in my case not finishing, or getting pucks out or an extra battle at the end. The margin of error is so small in this league anyway, and we’re not scoring six goals a night, so it might be even smaller for us.”
San Jose has a 4-3 record despite living on the edge. All four of its victories have come in overtime or shootouts, including a 3-2 shootout win at Nashville on Thursday.
The Sharks appeared headed for their first regulation victory until the Predators’ Steven Stamkos scored with one second remaining.
San Jose goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who played two seasons with Detroit, stopped 32 shots and didn’t allow a goal against three skaters in the shootout.
“He was unbelievable,” forward Will Smith said. “He won that game for us. He was unbelievable all night. You always feel comfortable with him back there.”
San Jose had lost three of its previous four contests.
“For the most part, I liked a lot of our game,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I thought there was some improvement in some areas. There are still areas to work on, but we’ll take the two points and move on.”
The Sharks will be playing the second game of a six-game road trip Saturday.
The Red Wings swept the two-game series last season.