It’s a weird thing to say as the NHL regular season nears its final two weeks, but just for a moment, think back to the Red Wings’ very first preseason game, back on Sept. 19.



It was overtime of a 2-2 game — which, in the preseason, is not always a thrilling proposition — and the Red Wings had four of their most interesting young players all out on the ice for a 4-on-3 power play against the Penguins. Dennis Cholowski rang a shot off the post, and the rebound bounced to Dylan Larkin, who then ripped it cross-crease for an easy, game-winning tap-in by Michael Rasmussen.



Along with Anthony Mantha, the group on the ice represented four of the team’s past six first-round draft picks. And the goal-scorer, Rasmussen, was Detroit’s first top-10 pick since 1991. As preseason goals go, it was a pretty memorable one.



At the time, it was easy to wonder if Rasmussen was going to do that relatively often this season. Preseason games...