Their backs against the wall, their season on the line, their playoff push going splat, a splat on the ice gave the Red Wings life. Then another, two octopi hurled from the crowd with Detroit trailing Montreal 4-2 midway through the third period Monday night at Little Caesars Arena. They twirled through the air in succession, 72 years to the day since the first octopus was flung at The Olympia when the Wings won their eighth straight game to claim the Stanley Cup.
Back then, their eight tentacles represented a target. These days, they're a rallying cry, and a reminder of the Red Wings' storied past. On this night, they landed just in time.
"We got chasing (the deficit) there and we were pretty much down to nine forwards for a stretch," said Derek Lalonde. "We got a little lucky with some timeouts, and some octopi on the ice to get some breathers. Assist to the fanbase, they had a good feel on what we needed for energy there."
The prolonged stoppage didn't just afford the Wings' top players a chance to recharge, as the ice crew cleared the slimy cephalopods and hoisted them in the air. It electrified the crowd, which had been lulled into the silence of a death march. A little over a minute later, Alex DeBrincat buried a one-timer off a cross-ice feed from Shayne Gostisbehere and the comeback was on. It was the Lucas Raymond show from there.
"I give him a ton of credit," said Lalonde. "It wasn’t going for him, he was on the bad end of some physical plays. Didn’t get frustrated, hung in there, battled and obviously the two big goals in the end."
The first tied the game with 1:17 to play and sent LCA into delirium on fan appreciation night. A loss in regulation would have knocked the Red Wings out of the playoff race as the Capitals took care of business against the Bruins. With the game and the season on his stick, Raymond received the puck along the goal line, curled into the circle and snapped a shot past the glove of Sam Montembeault. What a time for his 30th goal of the season.
His 31st came in the final minute of overtime on a two-on-one rush with Dylan Larkin. Gassed at the end of a long shift, Raymond summoned something extra to catch up to the play and a feathered pass from Larkin and wire a wrist shot past Montembeault's blocker. The roof nearly blew off the building. The Red Wings aren't dead yet.
"It starts with Larks and Razer," David Perron said Monday morning. "They’ve been two of our most consistent leaders offensively the whole year. They pour their emotions and their hearts into every game."
When the Red Wings lost Larkin to an injury last month, Raymond was one of their only players who raised his game. Defenseman Ben Chiarot said he's noticed all season that Raymond has "kind of taken the reins for us, him and Larks, really pushing the group as far as offensive production. And he's so young. He's only going to continue to get better." After a sophomore slump on the heels of a standout rookie season, Raymond leads the Red Wings with 71 points in 81 games. That includes 14 goals and 20 points in his last 17.
"He’s got a really good engine," said Chiarot. "He’s driven to be one of our best players. The top, top guys that I’ve played with in my career have that unique drive every single day to be the best, and Lucas has that. I can see what he’s going to become."
The Red Wings challenged Raymond at the end of last season to bulk up over the summer, after watching his energy -- and his weight -- wane over the course of the year. That meant "some difficult conversations," said Lalonde, "about what we wanted from him out of his offseason." Raymond exceeded expectations by packing on nearly 10 pounds of muscle, which has translated into winning more pucks and creating more chances. Now he's Detroit's first player to score 30 goals at the age of 22 or younger since ... Larkin.
"Just trying to play my game," Raymond said. "Getting a year older, maturing, I feel good, my body feels good. I think that’s the big difference, the way my body feels this time of year compared to previous years."
Raymond was battling Jello legs at this point last season. While they were burning at the end of his final shift in OT against the Habs, he had enough in the tank to race up ice and put himself in position for the game-winner. And then the poise to finish the job. Asked if Raymond reminds him of any forward he's come across in the NHL, Chiarot called him "a really good athlete" who's "really agile with the puck," before deciding that "he’s kind of another level in being able to move around the ice." His lateral quickness makes him different.
As a draft prospect, Raymond drew some comparisons to Mitch Marner for his ability to make plays in tight spaces. Chiarot, who's seen a lot of Marner over the last several seasons, said that while the Maple Leafs star is equally "shifty side to side, Ray still has that straightaway speed, too." Marner, drafted fourth overall nine years ago, didn't crack the 70-point threshold until his third season. He's eighth in the league in scoring since. The fourth overall pick on the Red Wings might be on a similar track.
"I could see the playmaking in that (comparison)," said Chiarot.
Raymond helped the Red Wings erase a two-goal third period deficit and salvage a crucial point last week with a hat trick against the Penguins. His two goals Monday night ensured that Detroit will play at least one more must-win game this season, Tuesday night in Montreal against these same Canadiens. If the Red Wings win and the Capitals lose in any fashion to the Flyers, who are still vying for the second wild card spot themselves, the Wings will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 when Raymond was 14 years old. He turned 22 last month.
"These games are another level of intensity, and he’s elevated," said Lalonde.
"He’s just rising to the moment," said Perron, whose cross-ice backhand pass set up J.T. Compher's second goal that shaved the deficit to two late in the second.
"That’s why we need to get in these moments," said Lalonde. "There’s huge growth in it. He’s been impressive to watch in my two years I’ve been here, and he’s starting to shine in these really critical moments. Obviously a really good sign for him, but a good sign for us."
The comeback win was the Red Wings' 13th this season after trailing in the third, second most in the NHL to the team they'll meet in the playoffs if they get there: the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers. Lalonde had reminded his players during the second intermission that they had been here before. It was no surprise to the coach when they rallied. Now "a business trip" awaits, said Lalonde.
"Going into the season, no one had us in the playoffs, most (experts) had us picked seventh in the decision," said Lalonde. "If you would have told us, 'You have one game, game 82 on the road, to improve 11 points over your previous season and have a chance to make the playoffs,' every single one of us would have signed up for it. It’s here now and it’s going to be a challenge for us."
They'll like their chances, with Raymond on their side.