Red Wings Preseason: Twitter Reacts to Rookie Nate Danielson Scoring, Playing Key Minutes During NHL Debut One Night Before 19th Birthday

NHL: NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings opened preseason play Tuesday night, securing a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena.

Twitter users reacted to Nate Danielson, the No. 9 overall draft pick, making his NHL debut one night before turning 19 years old, scoring a goal and earning ice time in the final minute of a one-goal game.

Happy birthday, Nate.

Red Wings Open Eight-Game Preseason Schedule

Iconic logo …

Red Wings forwards participated in Tuesday morning’s skate …

Examining the Red Wings’ preseason-opening roster. Several players, like Danielson, eventually will report back to their juniors squad or be assigned to a minor-league affiliate, but there also was a good mix of veteran NHLers …

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin led the Red Wings out of the locker room for the first time this season …

Assisted by his linemates, Taro Hirose and Jonatan Berggren, Danielson notched the Red Wings’ first marker, tying the match at 1-1 at 17:23 of the first period. Danielson ended up logging 16:38 of ice time Tuesday …

Expected to be the Red Wings’ top-line scoring center, Larkin found himself at the right spot to hand the Red Wings their first lead at 6:58 of the second period …

Playing his first match in a Red Wings sweater, top-line winger Alex DeBrincat, a Michigan native, earned two assists Tuesday. The Red Wings needed a pure scorer to complement Larkin. DeBrincat could be the NHL’s acquisition of the year …

Breaking a 2-2 tie, defenseman Moritz Seider scored during a man-advantage situation at 11:40 of the second period. The Red Wings went 2-for-6 on the power play. Improved special-teams play will be key to the franchise ending its postseason drought, which extends back to 2016 …

Michael Rasmussen secures the game-winner at 6:13 of the third period. With the Red Wings’  opponents expected to focus on stopping the top line, Big Ras could be in a huge campaign. Or, at least, he should continue to build off his level of play last winter, before being sidelined with an injury …

Towering, yet intriguing trio …

After Danielson provided the opening spark, the regulars, Larkin, Seider and Rasmussen, provided balanced scoring versus the Penguins. The Red Wings finished with a 33-22 advantage in shots on goal and won 63.1 percent of their faceoffs. …

For a new-look rebuilding franchise with playoff aspirations …

Rasmussen, who like Danielson, was a ninth-overall draft pick (2017). Big Ras analyzed his game-winner and the preseason-opening victory …

Getting to know a part of the Red Wings’ future. Coach Derek Lalonde spoke about Danielson’s first preseason experience. “It’s very valuable,” Lalonde said, as reported by Freep.com. “He’s building off a good rookie tournament, good camp in Traverse City. He was good tonight. We’d like to get him back in there soon.”

Happy birthday, Nate, but be prepared. The Red Wings next play at the Washington Capitals on Thursday …

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