DETROIT – Andrew Copp lost the offensive-zone face-off, but Michael Rasmussen swooped in to corral the puck, took it to the net and got a few whacks at it before his teammate buried the rebound.
Copp’s goal 25 seconds into overtime Tuesday gave the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena, and Rasmussen’s play, on the winning goal and throughout the night, earned effusive praise from his coach.
“We rarely single out a guy for effort, especially the way we’re built because it literally feels every time we win it’s a complete team effort, but Ras tonight – and he was nicked up, you could tell he wasn’t 100 percent – he forechecked, he finished,” Derek Lalonde said. “Even the overtime goal, he jumps a San Jose face-off win and ends up getting three jabs at it before it ends up on Copp’s stick for the open-netter. What an effort for him.”
Rasmussen scored his eighth goal of the season to give his team a 2-1 lead at 16:29 of the second and shortly after was shaken up during a collision with Jaycob Megna. Rasmussen labored to get to the bench and was clearly in pain while being attended to by trainer Piet Van Zant.
But he didn’t miss any shifts and delivered in overtime, which hasn’t been kind to the Red Wings (3-5).
“I think we just won a battle, were hard in the net front and one went in,” Rasmussen said. “Just found a way. That’s all.”
Said Copp: “Ras said we won a battle -- he won a battle. Took it right to the cage and I was kind of off to the side. I kind of knew it would find its way over there. I pulled it out and put it in an empty net. It wasn’t too tough. He did all the work.”
Rasmussen is a versatile player the Red Wings use at center or wing and move up and down the lineup. He started the season at center but has settled in on the wing the past several weeks. Lalonde knows he’s doing a good job there by the feedback he gets from other players.
“He’s been awesome this year,” Lalonde said. “I want to be careful because I think we’re still raw in his development. I think the wing frees up what he is -- he hunts pucks, wins battles, simplifies his game. You know a winger is good when every center starts to come hinting that they would like to play with him, or if I have a talk with a player about their current game, and they’re like, ‘Well, when I was with Ras …' That’s certainly a good sign when we get those conversations.”
Lalonde called the 6-6 Rasmussen a “will kid,” a big-bodied player who takes pride in getting the puck out of his zone, winning puck battles and establishing a forecheck.
“He’s always work-ethic first and he’s getting rewarded with some good play,” Lalonde said. “He’s not a natural finisher. I’m really excited he was involved in two points tonight.
“Very impressed with what Ras has given us lately.”
Rasmussen started the night on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond but ended it with Copp and David Perron.
“I think he brings an element that is kind of unique to our team in terms of his size and forechecking ability and his skating, too,” Copp said. “He’s been great on the forecheck, he’s been great net front. He’s won a lot of puck battles that have kind of gotten us the puck to keep it in the O-zone. And then he’s been burying his chances.”
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