Recap: Red Wings clip Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2
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Detroit scored three first-period goals, including two on the power play
DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings set the tone on the power play, then took advantage of some opportunistic chances, leading to a workmanlike 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday evening.
Detroit improved to 6-5-2 and won its second straight game, while Vegas moved to 6-6-0 on the season. The Golden Knights recorded a 40-30 advantage on shots, but Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss made a season-high tying 38 saves to secure his fourth win of the season.
Detroit will host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, seeking to clinch its first three-game winning streak of the season.
"We played hard tonight," said captain Dylan Larkin, who returned to the lineup after missing the past three games due to personal reasons. "Thomas Greiss was incredible, Ned's been playing great the past couple times he's been in.
"That second period was, I think, probably our best stretch of hockey there. We had a ton of chances, had a ton of offensive zone time, and we backchecked hard, got pucks back and then went back in the offensive zone. I just think we outworked them tonight and we got rewarded with two huge points at home."
Vegas quickly got on the board at the 16:12 mark of the first period shortly after Detroit killed a preceding penalty. The Golden Knights stole the puck in their offensive zone, and after applying pressure, Nicolas Roy had a clean look at the goal from the slot. He beat Greiss on his right side, giving Vegas the early 1-0 lead.
Detroit evened the score (1-1) less than five minutes later (11:43), with rookie Lucas Raymond scoring a power-play goal, his sixth goal of the season. Shortly after the man advantage began, Raymond received a feed from Tyler Bertuzzi and found the open net.
The Red Wings drew another penalty just 23 seconds later (11:20), and Robby Fabbri made it 2-for-2 on the power play with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle. The goal was set up by Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek after he forced a turnover, and assisted by Pius Suter and veteran defenseman Nick Leddy.
Detroit extended its lead to 3-1 with just 1:32 remaining in the opening period. Hronek fired a shot on net that was rebounded to an attacking Suter. He lifted the puck top shelf past Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit, securing his third goal of the season and second in as many games.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged that the quick start was key to securing victory against Vegas, which also has been on the road for more than a week.
"I think it's always important [to get off to a good start]. You never want to be digging from behind the whole time, so I think it's always important," Blashill said. "You gotta win hockey games, and obviously both of us were kind of in the same spot. We were both on long trips. We got to come home.
"Our fans were excellent tonight, the crowd was great, so hopefully that's advantage us. If that pushed us a little over the edge, that's great. I thought they were better than us for the first few minutes, and once we scored, I thought we were real good until we got the 4-1 lead, then we weren't quite as good. But I thought we really dug in and worked for a while."
The first half of the second period went scoreless before Vladislav Namestnikov pushed the Red Wings' lead to 4-1 at the 9:21 mark of the frame. Mitchell Stephens fed Namestnikov from behind the goal, and his ensuing shot bounced off Brossoit's knee pad and into the back of the net. It was Namestnikov's fifth goal of the season, and gave Detroit a commanding three-goal lead heading into the dressing room at the second intermission.
Vegas sliced its deficit in half, 4-2, after a goal by Jonathan Marchessault with 15:35 remaining in the third period. Marchessault corralled a loose puck and his wrist shot got past Greiss on his left side.
Vegas pulled Brossoit with 4:08 remaining, and trailing by two goals. Greiss made nine saves during an aggressive spree before Bertuzzi's empty-netter put the game out of reach with 10.2 seconds remaining.
Tuesday's puck drop against the Oilers is set for 7:30 p.m. It will mark Detroit's first matchup against Edmonton this season.
Larkin Returns
In addressing the media after the game, Dylan Larkin announced that his time away from the team this week was due to a family emergency. As the situation is a private matter, Larkin said he hopes everyone can respect his privacy, as well as his family's privacy, during this time.
