RECAP: Red Wings play 'a complete game top to bottom' on the way to 4-0 shutout win in Chicago

CHICAGO – Multi-point efforts from Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, along with another strong showing between the pipes from netminder John Gibson, helped the Detroit Red Wings end their season-long six-game road trip with a 4-0 shutout win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Saturday night.

“I thought it was a complete game top to bottom, from the drop of the puck to the finish” said Gibson, who finished with 26 saves to earn his second shutout in his past three starts. “We stuck to our game plan and played really well. A total team effort.”

Collecting nine of a possible 12 points on its nearly two-week stretch away from Little Caesars Arena, Detroit (18-12-3; 39 points) has also scored at least four goals in six of their last seven games. In the crease for Chicago (13-13-6; 32 points) goalie Arvid Soderblom made 19 saves.

“When you look at it from a points perspective, it’s a really good trip for us,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We had to win in a lot of different ways. To finish six games in 10 nights with a shutout, that’s something we should be proud of. When we started Training Camp three months ago, we talked about being mentally stronger, physically stronger and improving in game management. I thought we saw all three of those elements on the trip, especially here tonight.”

With the Blackhawks playing the second half of a back-to-back set after flying home from St. Louis last night, the Red Wings showed some noticeable jump early and, thanks to the pair of former Blackhawks in DeBrincat and Kane, grabbed a 2-0 lead before the five-minute mark of the first period.

“The start was great,” Kane said. “It was a similar game to Calgary [a 4-3 victory at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday night]. We got ourselves in the same position and instead of giving up three in the third, we really shut it down.”

Just 55 seconds into this Original Six matchup, DeBrincat scored his first goal of the night by tipping home Andrew Copp’s behind-the-goal-line centering pass. Kane started the play, winning a battle along the right boards before Copp received the puck down low in the corner.

“Copper has played extremely well there,” McLellan said. “Maybe he’s been waiting for that, I’m not sure, but he’s got it now and I’d like to see him keep it. If keeps doing what he’s doing, it’s a real good spot for him.”

Continuing to close in on 500 career NHL goals and Mike Modano’s record for most points by an American-born player, Kane finished a 2-on-1 rush with DeBrincat to notch his sixth tally of the campaign at 4:35 of the opening frame.

The veteran forward is now just two goals away from becoming the fifth NHL skater born in the United States to join the 500-goal club.

“It’s amazing to come back and see the Kane and Detroit jerseys in the crowd,” said Kane, who has collected the most regular-season points (645) by a U.S.-born skater at a U.S.-based venue (United Center) in League history. “Had a moment there after the game with the fans too, so it’s cool that it’s once a year and you can come back and really enjoy it.”

Before Chicago’s defense could clear it away, Emmitt Finnie pounced on Lucas Raymond’s rebound in the slot and sent a wrist shot past Soderblom to extend Detroit’s lead to 3-0 at 14:23 of the second period. Axel Sandin-Pellikka also picked up a secondary helper on Finnie's seventh goal of the season, giving him six points (1-5-6) in his past six contests.

In the third period, with an empty net on the opposite end of the ice, DeBrincat passed captain Dylan Larkin for the team lead in goals (18) with his second of the night for the 4-1 final at 16:14.

“We’re starting to build on something,” Gibson said. “Hopefully, we can carry it home and keep the momentum going before Christmas break.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will be back at Little Caesars Arena to host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on Gibson’s play as of late

“He’s confident. The guys feel really good about playing around him. Less pucks coming off him, more whistles and very efficient. Just looks like Gibby.”

Gibson on what he thought of this road trip overall

“We won hockey games. It’s a long, hard road trip. We knew tonight was a big one, kind of set it apart from making it an average road trip or a really good road trip. We put a little bit of extra pressure on ourselves and, like I said before, it was a complete effort.”

Gibson on watching Kane get closer to history

“I think everybody was excited to come here. Obviously, it’s my first time here playing with him. I was looking forward to that – seeing everybody out there for warmups. A big night for him and Cat. Obviously, getting off to a great start. They kind of set the tone and everybody else was ready to follow.”

Kane on wrapping up this long trek on a high note

“That’s a great trip. Six games in 10 days with a lot of travel – that’s a real tough trip. So, to come out 4-1-1 I think we can be real happy with that.”