Red Wings snap 3-game skid with 3-2 win over Golden Knights
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ville Husso made 33 saves and the Detroit Red Wings snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the scuffling Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Lucas Raymond, Dominik Kubalik and Joe Veleno scored for the Red Wings, who had lost six of eight. That included blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of a 4-3 shootout loss Tuesday at Arizona.
Detroit, though, faced a Golden Knights team trying to find its way since captain Mark Stone left with an upper-body injury Jan. 12 against Florida. Vegas has lost a season-high three in a row and four of five while struggling to hold onto first place in the Pacific Division.
Los Angeles and Seattle were both two points back entering Thursday.
Alex Pietrangelo and William Karlsson scored for the Golden Knights. Adin Hill stopped 22 shots.
The Red Wings are closer to the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings than the top, but they were the sharper team in this one. They used pinpoint passing to set up all three goals in the first two periods in taking a 3-1 lead.
It was a collective effort; no Detroit player had more than one point.
The Red Wings struck early, scoring 2:45 in when Dylan Larkin delivered a beautiful pass to Raymond in front. That assist extended Larkin’s point streak to six games (two goals, six assists) and left him one point short of 400 in his career.
The Golden Knights answered late in the first period when Nic Hague passed from the right point to Pietrangelo, who fired a shot from above the left circle. That goal with 36 seconds left kept Vegas from going scoreless over five consecutive periods.
Detroit scored twice in the second. Oskar Sundqvist set up Kubalik for the go-ahead goal on a power play, and Jordan Oesterle’s pass to Veleno put the Red Wings ahead 3-1.
The Golden Knights cut their deficit 3-2 on a 6-on-5 with 41.5 seconds left on Karlsson’s redirect of Jack Eichel’s shot. Reilly Smith picked up the secondary assist, his second point of the night.
NOTES: Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez (illness) was back on the ice after leaving in the second period Monday against Dallas. … Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek got his 150th career point with a second-period assist. … Eichel, who has 15 goals and 33 points this season, has gone three games without a goal and has put the puck in the net once in five games.
UP NEXT
Red Wings: Will face Philadelphia at home Saturday.
Golden Knights: Host the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
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