Dylan Larkin, Jonatan Berggren double up Vancouver Canucks in Detroit Red Wings' 5-2 win
The Detroit Red Wings can pack a winning streak as they head out on their longest trip of the season.
They toppled the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, in a Saturday matinee at Little Caesars Arena, using a quick start to string together their second straight victory. The teams meet again Monday night in Vancouver, as the Wings start a five-game trek with three stops in western Canada.
"There were moments in the rest of the game we weren’t as sharp, so that 2-0 lead really helped," coach Derek Lalonde said.
There was much for the Wings to like Saturday: Dylan Larkin had two goals and an assist; rookie Jonatan Berggren also had two goals. Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot both assisted on the first two goals. The Wings were without a top-line forward and top-pair defenseman, but their depth ameliorated those absences.
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Lalonde credited Larkin's second goal with making "the difference in the game. The way the second period started, we take a penalty and they score. You could feel momentum going. They clearly won the second period. Getting that goal to go into the third up two goals was huge."
Filip Hronek made it 4-1 early in the third period, shortly after he had tripped Ethan Bear on a breakaway, leading to a penalty shot that former Wolverine Quinn Hughes took after Bear crashed into the boards and had to be helped off the ice. Hughes shot wide, and Berggren soon made it 5-1 when he converted on a power play. All-Star Elias Petterson got one by Ville Husso on a rebound midway through the period to complete the scoring.
Raymond misses first game
Lucas Raymond had not missed a game since entering the NHL last season, but his streak of 132 games ended Saturday. He suffered a lower-body injury when he collided with Ben Chiarot during Friday's practice, creating an opening on the top line. Dominik Kubalik re-entered the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the previous game, subbing into Raymond's spot. Jake Walman was unavailable because of an upper-body injury dating to a hit in Thursday's game. That forced the Wings to slide Chiarot back onto the top pairing opposite Seider, and Jordan Oesterle re-entered the lineup to partner with Robert Hägg.
"Give our guys credit," Lalonde said. "To, over 24 hours, to lose a first-liner and a top-pair D, that’s not easy and I thought our guys did well finding a way to win."
Good, but not great
Larkin scored when his shot deflected in off a Canucks player 1:08 into the game, and Berggren made it 2-0 just over a minute later when he redirected Chiarot's pass behind Spencer Martin from the left side of the net. That made it two goals on two shots in the opening 2:35. Vancouver's J.T. Miller responded by cheap-shotting Olli Määttä egregiously enough that officials handed Miller an unsportsmanlike conduct on top of a roughing call. But the Wings didn't even register a shot on net during four minutes with a man advantage; nor did they get a shot on net during a power play midway through the first period.
Taking advantage
The Canucks made the most of their first power play, with Anthony Beauvillier — part of the return in the trade that sent prior Wings-target Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders late last month — scoring just 13 seconds after Määtta was penalized for slashing. That pulled the Canucks within a goal two minutes into the second period. The Wings finally took advantage on their fourth power play, though. Tyler Bertuzzi fired a shot from up high, and David Perron picked up the puck and circled out front, slipping a pass to Robby Fabbri to the right of the net. Fabbri found Larkin in the left circle, and he scored on a power play for the second straight game.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings find offense in 5-2 win over Vancouver Canucks
