DETROIT — Two goals in the opening 2 minutes and 35 seconds weren't enough to completely put the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon, but the Red Wings ultimately did so with ease in a 5-2 win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Jonatan Berggren and Dylan Larkin would each go on to score twice, with defenseman Filip Hronek adding the Wings' fifth. Defenseman Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider each had two assists for Detroit (23-20-8). Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and an assist and Elias Petterson also scored for Vancouver (21-28-4).
Larkin got the scoring started for Detroit at 1:08 in the first period. The captain received a pass from Seider and took a harmless-looking wrist shot from the face-off dot to Martin's right, beating him low for a 1-0 lead.
Berggren kept possession for Detroit in the offensive zone and snuck behind the net, where he tipped in a pass from Chiarot for his ninth goal of the year at 2:35 in the first. Chiarot and Seider each assisted on both of the opening goals.
The Canucks had the start they needed in the second period, getting on the board with a power-play goal just 13 seconds after Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta went to the box for slashing. Beauvillier made it 2-1 at 2:02 in the period with assists to Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller.
The Red Wings didn't land a second-period shot on goal until after the halfway point.
Detroit finally took advantage of Vancouver's league-worst penalty kill (66.4% entering Saturday) with 6:43 left in the second period. Larkin was hit with a cross-ice pass from Robby Fabbri and fired it past and out-of-position Martin for his second goal of the night and third in two games.
Lucas Raymond (lower body) was unable to play Saturday, marking the first time that he was not in the lineup since making his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season opener. Jake Walman (shoulder) was also a late scratch for Detroit.
The Red Wings got another one on the board to start the third period, but it wasn't until after a close call for Vancouver. Vancouver defenseman Ethan Bear was sprung on a breakaway after getting out of the penalty box and was hauled down by Hronek, resulting in a penalty shot. Bear appeared to be badly injured; he left the game and did not return. Hughes took the shot for Vancouver and was stopped by Ville Husso.
Less than a minute later, Hronek redeemed his play with one on the other end. After getting a pass from Olli Maatta, Hronek fired one home from the top of the circles, his eighth goal of the season. Berggren added another goal for the Wings at 10:55 to give the rookie his 10th goal in 38 games.
Vancouver cut its deficit to three in the third period. Pettersson slammed home a goal out front to make it 5-2 at 10:25.
