Ben Chiarot, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik scored their first goals since joining Detroit as the Red Wings defeated the host New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday.
The trio all joined the Wings as free agents during the offseason. Dylan Larkin had a goal and two assists for Detroit, which blanked Montreal in its opener on Friday.
Jakub Vrana supplied a goal and an assist, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves. Lucas Raymond added a pair of assists and Chiarot also had a two-point game.
Tyler Bertuzzi, who had an assist, left the game in the second period when he was injured attempting to block a shot.
Dougie Hamilton led the Devils with a goal and an assist. Miles Wood had the other goal for New Jersey, while Vitek Vanecek stopped only 17 of 22 shots.
Hamilton scored 4:45 into the first period with a shot from the point that fluttered past Nedeljkovic. Jesper Bratt and Jonas Siegenthaler collected the assists.
Detroit emerged from the second period with a 4-2 lead.
Chiarot scored 1:30 into the period with a blast from the point off a long rebound of a Larkin shot.
Vrana gave Detroit a 2-1 advantage on a 2-on-1 break, ripping a shot from the left circle. Raymond and Chiarot had the assists.
Wood tied it up 10 seconds later with a shot in front off a backhanded Fabian Zetterlund pass. Hamilton had the second assist.
Detroit regained the lead when New Jersey turned the puck over in its zone. Perron backhanded a shot past Vanecek off a Vrana feed. Olli Maatta notched the second assist.
The Wings scored in the final second of the period after Vanecek lost control of his blocker. Larkin lifted a shot over the goaltender's right shoulder. Andrew Copp and Filip Hronek had the assists.
The defenses were in control most of the third period. Kubalik scored off a Raymond setup with 9:05 remaining to give the Red Wings a 5-2 lead.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | New Jersey | |
Dylan Larkin 3 | Points | Dougie Hamilton 2 |
Dylan Larkin 1 | Goals | Dougie Hamilton 1 |
Dylan Larkin 2 | Assists | Dougie Hamilton 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Alex Nedeljkovic .949 | Save Percentage | Vitek Vanecek .773 |
Alex Nedeljkovic 37 | Saves | Vitek Vanecek 17 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Detroit | 22 | 5 | 0-4 | 3-3 | 10 | 25 |
New Jersey | 39 | 2 | 0-3 | 4-4 | 12 | 30 |