Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings began their 2024-25 preseason with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Wednesday. Although preseason games do not impact the overall record, the win was seen as a positive start for the team.

"It feels really good," said Carter Mazur. "We put in the work during camp, so to see it finally come to life and be a win -- you want to win every single game, even if it's preseason -- feels pretty good."

Ville Husso and Sebastian Cossa shared goaltending duties for Detroit, stopping 25 of 27 shots combined. Husso, who played only 19 games last season due to multiple lower-body injuries, saved 15 of 17 shots through two periods.

"Really optimistic and promising from [Husso's] first period," said Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde. "Him being able to see pucks, catching pucks through traffic. Obviously the second period probably a little rust there, and I thought Cossa played well."

Tyler Motte scored early for Detroit at just 1:10 into the first period with assists from Austin Watson and Joe Veleno. Chicago equalized at 6:50 of the second period when Craig Smith scored on his backhand after hitting the post on his forehand.

Teuvo Teravainen then gave Chicago a brief lead at 9:03 with an assist from Connor Bedard. Jeff Petry tied it up again at 18:37 with a slap shot goal assisted by Mazur and Marco Kasper.

"I kind of lost the puck there to be honest, but got lucky with the extra effort and dove," Mazur commented. "That's something I need to do. I want to be in the NHL and you got to do the little things to get there, but I'm just taking it day-by-day, working hard and doing what I can."

Detroit's power-play unit made it 3-2 at 3:41 of the third period when Lucas Raymond scored off a pass from captain Dylan Larkin, with Alex DeBrincat providing a secondary assist.

Olli Maatta sealed the game with a goal at 14:42 assisted by Eric Gustafsson and Emitt Finnie.

Lalonde expressed satisfaction with his team's performance. "I liked our young guys," he said. "Obviously some of our vets got some good touches tonight. There are some things we still want to clean up."

Next up for Detroit is their first preseason home game against Chicago on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.

In postgame comments:

Lalonde praised Kasper's play: "Comfortable with the puck. A lot of minutes. Obviously some opportunity in every situation, and I thought he handled it well."

Mazur spoke about team chemistry: "This room has been pretty fun. It's pretty easy to look around; you have Larkin and Raymond to see what they do... Even Watson, he's a guy on a PTO who you can look up to and take little things from."

Cossa reflected on his time in goal: "I felt really good... Some really big blocks by the guys... Couple shots just to kind of feel and get into the game, so it went well overall."

He also discussed his training camp experience in Traverse City: "It felt good... Playing in Grand Rapids last year [helped me grow] mentally and physically... ready to keep going here."