Shortly before the puck dropped, Steve Yzerman, general manager and former captain, noted how the current Detroit Red Wings had come through with a victory on Thursday when the 1997 Stanley Cup championship team was honored.
The Wings came through again on Saturday after the 1998 team was honored at Little Caesars Arena, delivering a solid performance against the New York Islanders to earn a 3-0 victory.
Lucas Raymond and Pius Suter scored during special-teams play in the second period and Dominik Kubalik scored midway through the third period. It was Kubalik’s fifth goal and fifth multi-point game of the season.
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The Wings (6-3-2) play again Sunday at the New York Rangers.
Power play delivers
The Wings squandered two man-advantages in the first period. Oliver Wahlstrom handed the Wings another power play early in the second with a roughing penalty on Raymond, and the Wings’ advantage grew to two skaters when Adam Pelech was called for hooking 44 seconds later. The Wings did what worked in their previous game: Dylan Larkin had the puck and found Kubalik at the bottom of the right circle. Kubalik passed the puck through the paint to Raymond, stationed to the left of the net. Raymond flung the puck behind Semyon Varlamov, scoring for the fourth time in four games after a slow start to the season.
Husso delivers
Ville Husso started in net for the second straight time and the fourth time in the past five games. He has had the benefit of more home starts (seven, compared to one for Alex Nedeljkovic) but Husso also has created separation with his strong play. He denied a flurry of shots late in the first period and came through with a couple big saves again in the second period, including one on Brock Nelson during the Islanders’ second power play. Noah Dobson was denied by Husso during the Islanders’ third power play, early in the third period. One of his best saves came off an Islanders rush midway through the third period, when he saved a point-blank shot by Wahlstrom. Husso stopped all 24 shots on net he faced.
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Penalty kill delivers
Saturday marked the first time this season Suter was part of the top-six group, playing on a line with Larkin and Raymond. Suter largely has been on the fourth line, but he has contributed on the penalty kill, using his speed to create offensive chances and, at the very least, eat up valuable seconds. He did so again Saturday, with deserving results: Moritz Seider began the play behind the Wings’ net while Larkin was serving a roughing call late in the second period. Adam Erne caught the puck along the boards and forwarded it to Suter, who raced up ice and gave his team a 2-0 lead with his second goal of the season.
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.