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Red Wings dominate in Joe Louis Arena’s final opener

Detroit Red Wings v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 04: Mike Green #25 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 4, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey. The Red Wings defeated the Devils 1-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Oh a night where The Joe was on many minds in Detroit, Mike was the one who took over.

OK, so guys named Thomas and Darren had strong nights too, but the point is that the Red Wings dominated in the final season-opener at Joe Louis Arena, beating the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-1.

Mike Green has authored many high-scoring nights in his career, particularly back to his Washington Capitals days, yet he generated his first NHL hat trick on Monday.

MORE: Nostalgia abounds at The Joe

It was an evening of turning back the clock, so maybe it’s fitting that it was a special night for Green and Thomas Vanek, two players whose best days might be behind them. Vanek collected three assists to continue his red-hot start with the Red Wings while Darren Helm scored two goals of his own.

Things went exceptionally well for Detroit overall. Petr Mrazek made some strong saves while there were shades of Henrik Zetterberg, who made some nifty plays even if he only ended up with a single assist.

Plenty of people wonder if the Red Wings’ record playoff streak will end during their last season playing in Joe Louis Arena.

If this group plays like this more often than not, we might be talking about one final playoff run at The Joe.