Red Wings score unanswered goals to beat Hurricanes

Members of the Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal scored by Danny DeKeyser #65 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first period of an NHL game on February 2, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings saw a lot of parts come together to dominate on a Friday night at PNC Arena. Darren Helm got three points on the night that helped Detroit down the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. The consecutive victory gave them a lot of momentum with plenty of shots that saw them score all unanswered; overwhelming Scott Darling in net for the home team. Petr Mrazek got back to back wins for his seventh this season.

Detroit’s shootout win over the Sharks on Wednesday gave them a lot of confidence to make the short road trip in the southeast successful. Mrazek earned another back to back start after his terrific performance and a 1.02 GAA while going 3-0-1. Cam Ward had been helping Carolina who sat on a three-game winning streak but would not start. With the Red Wings in another goaltender battle they would need to see the lamp lit from some of their best and gain a footing in the division standings.

Before they gained a grip of any kind, the Hurricanes moved quick to gain shots at the puck and Mrazek in net. They got an even bigger push of offense as Dylan Larkin took a penalty at 6:19. With a lot of action from Carolina, they made it happen on a second opportunity that got on the stick of Sebastian Aho who scored with three seconds self on the man advantage. It was his 18^th of the season and the best way to get ahead of the Red Wings.

Detroit picked up the pace and competed well pressuring Darling who locked them out on the glove side. They got even at eight shots apiece with six minutes on the clock as tensions were running high. Detroit focused on the mission at hand and nearly halfway through the remaining time, they got the game tied with Danny DeKeyser scoring his second of the season on a deflection that got through over the left shoulder of Darling. “Anytime I can get a chance to put the puck on the net it’s what I’m gonna try to do,” said DeKeyser who scored for the first time in 18 games. “Luckily that one found its way in.”

The Red Wings were still on the hunt for a second nearly getting one with Jordan Staal snapping the stick of Gustav Nyquist to avoid that happening. Carolina took a penalty for it where they nearly made up for it with a big steal from Joakim Nordstrom who went on the breakaway that Mrazek saved. With everything looking well rounded, the Red Wings finished the period outshooting the Hurricanes 16-13 getting a lot more pucks to the net.

They were having trouble repeating in the second as the Hurricanes got ahead on shots during the second period holding Detroit to one through four minutes. It all changed as Trevor Daley earned back to back goals with a drive at center that gave him his fifth for the Red Wings. It was a well set up pass for the defenseman that lit a fire under Detroit to overtake the Hurricanes by the eight-minute mark.

They were both on one another as the Red Wings played to defend their score while trying to increase it as well. The remainder of the second period saw Detroit’s Darren Helm trying to get a breakaway style attempt but he was unable to push forward enough. Despite coming up short individually, Detroit managed to play well throughout to stay ahead as the period came to a close. Both teams had 11 shots on one another with the third period having a goal stand as the margin.

The Hurricanes knew of the situation and jumped on the puck shooting four times through four minutes wanting nothing more than to tie the game. They didn’t help their chances handing Detroit a power play that they couldn’t convert on. Instead of letting it get on their nerves, the Red Wings kept up with their even strength play where captain Henrik Zetterberg pulled off a back check for possession. He made the pass to Nyquist who went in on Darling to fire the puck scoring his 15^th and first in nine games. Zetterberg earned the assist that moved him into fifth on the all-time Red Wings for career assists with 605.

The two-goal lead for them was a good sign of taking things under control to complete the game in regulation. Detroit handed their opponents a chance to regain lost ground on another power play that went sour two minutes later. On a loose puck in the neutral zone, Helm came out of the box to get on the puck to go on an easy breakaway. He ripped the puck into the net that made it 4-1 for his fifth and three points on the night.

He nearly had another breakaway chance but it was quickly foiled by the Hurricanes who were already defeated but not ready to go down any worse. They played the final minutes where the Red Wings didn’t get anymore but finished strong to get a road trip on the right start. Mrazek finished 60 minutes of play with 36 saves for a .973 save percentage.

“I think tonight we played really well,” Mrazek said to Fox Sports Detroit reporter John Keating after the game. “We did lots of things right that we wanted to do. The guys did a great in front of me. The second penalty kill in the third period was important for us up 3-1 and it was a good job by our guys near the net.”

Darling got rocked through the last 43:39 where he faced 38 shots stopping 34 that gave him a save percentage below 90 percent. While they start from scratch Detroit would try their best to complete the two game away run facing the Florida Panthers Saturday night.