DETROIT — Nicolas Deslauriers, one of the NHL’s greatest fighters, was seen racing about on Thursday, presumably wanting to start something.
So Klim Kostin complied. They faced off late in the second period.
The Detroit Red Wings feel their 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers sent a message. Moritz Seider stated that they “came together as a team.”
“We have a strong frontrunner in Klim there. “He’s not afraid of anyone in this league,” Seider stated. “He helped us a little bit in that game. He told us not to be afraid of anyone out there. I believe that is an excellent message that we should carry on.”
With Ben Chiarot out due to an upper-body ailment, Kostin is one of the only bigger Red Wings willing to fight heavyweights. Deslauriers is third in the league, with seven fighting majors. According to hockeyfights.com, it is the Red Wings’ total, which is tied for 23rd in the league.
Coach Derek Lalonde emphasized the necessity of speaking up in instances like that.
“Different matchups create different problems and we’ve struggled a little bit with real heavy and it’s just our makeup,” Lalonde said in an interview. “I thought our pushback was excellent.” Excellent on Klim. It truly invigorated our group and him. Sometimes you have to do it. I believed it was the perfect occasion for Klim to do so, and it goes a long way.”
Several Flyers attempted to engage Seider. He simply pushed back and grinned at them.
“I don’t like yelling at other guys, or talking too much,” he remarked. “I want to focus on my game.” I felt like I didn’t contribute much on both hits. Obviously. It’s frustrating to put the lads on the PK. But overall. I simply try to take things easy. “I don’t want to get away from my game.”
