Ville Husso made 33 saves as the Detroit Red Wings ended their three-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the slumping Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Lucas Raymond, Dominik Kubalik, and Joe Veleno scored for the Red Wings, who had lost six of their last eight games. This included a disappointing 4-3 shootout loss to Arizona on Tuesday, where they blew a two-goal lead in the third period.
Detroit faced a Golden Knights team struggling since their captain, Mark Stone, suffered an upper-body injury on January 12 against Florida. Vegas has lost a season-high three games in a row and four of their last five, jeopardizing their first-place position in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles and Seattle were just two points behind Vegas entering Thursday’s game.
Alex Pietrangelo and William Karlsson scored for the Golden Knights, with Adin Hill making 22 saves.
The Red Wings were the sharper team despite being closer to the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings than the top. They used precise passing to set up all three goals in the first two periods, establishing a 3-1 lead. No Detroit player had more than one point, reflecting a collective team effort.
Detroit struck early, scoring 2:45 into the game when Dylan Larkin delivered a perfect pass to Raymond in front of the net. This assist extended Larkin’s point streak to six games (two goals, six assists) and brought him within one point of reaching 400 career points.
The Golden Knights responded late in the first period when Nic Hague passed from the right point to Pietrangelo, who scored from above the left circle. With 36 seconds left, this goal prevented Vegas from going scoreless for five consecutive periods.
Detroit added two more goals in the second period. Oskar Sundqvist set up Kubalik for a power-play goal, and Jordan Oesterle’s pass found Veleno to make it 3-1.
The Golden Knights cut their deficit to 3-2 with 41.5 seconds left in the game, as Karlsson redirected Jack Eichel’s shot during a 6-on-5 advantage. Reilly Smith recorded the secondary assist, his second point of the night.
Game Notes
Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez (illness) returned to the ice after leaving the second period of Monday’s game against Dallas. Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek earned his 150th career point with a second-period assist. With 15 goals and 33 points this season, Eichel has gone three games without a goal and has only scored once in the last five games.
UP NEXT
- Red Wings: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.
- Golden Knights: Host Washington on Saturday.
