Red Wings edge Blackhawks 4-3, end six-game slide
DETROIT (AP) — Dominik Kubalik scored the go-ahead goal with 4:07 remaining and the Detroit Red Wings snapped a six-game skid with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
Jake Walman, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond also scored for Detroit. Ville Husso made 39 saves.
Kubalik's goal was especially satisfying because he played his first three seasons with the Blackhawks. He signed with Detroit as a free agent prior to this season.
"You always want to beat the old team," he said. "The team is different, obviously, after a lot of trades. There's not too many guys left that I know, but you always want to play good against them and score or something."
The Red Wings had gone 0-5-1 after getting into position for a wild-card berth.
"I liked it a ton," coach Derek Lalonde said of his team's performance. "The message afterward was we talked about not giving up on the season or feeling sorry for ourselves on the season. That was a perfect example (with) tonight's game. ... Our guys just kept pushing and found a way. "
Taylor Raddysh scored twice and Joey Anderson also scored for Chicago. Alex Stalock stopped 15 shots.
"I thought that was a really sloppy game for us right from the start, other than our goaltender," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said.
Raddysh scored his first goal of the game on a power play off a pass from Lukas Reichel.
Raddysh's 16th goal of the season came after Detroit turned the puck over in its own zone. He took a shot from the right circle that beat Husso on the short side. Cole Guttman recorded his first career assist on the play.
Larkin was awarded a penalty shot in the final minute of the period when Blackhawks defenseman Caleb Jones covered the puck in the crease. Larkin tried to beat Stalock with a low shot, but Stalock made a pad save.
Walman scored his seventh goal early in the second to cut Chicago's lead to 2-1. Walman's shot from the point deflected off a defender's stick and over Stalock's left shoulder.
Larkin tied the game late in the period on a power play. Alex Chiasson set up Larkin's team-high 24th goal with a nifty between-the-legs pass.
Chiasson, who had two assists, had been playing for the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins before signing an NHL contract last week.
"It's a special night, playing in this building with the jersey and all that, first home game," he said. "It's been an emotional rollercoaster the past couple of days. Obviously winning tonight is kind of the cherry on top."
Anderson's third goal gave Chicago a 3-2 advantage at 6:10 of the third. After Jujhar Khaira won a faceoff in the Red Wings' zone, Anderson wristed a shot from the left side that eluded Husso's glove.
Raymond scored for the first time since Jan. 21 and tied the game at 3. He tipped in Robert Hagg's shot from the point at 12:35.
Kubalik scored the decisive goal, his 18th, after Detroit won a draw in Chicago's zone. He beat Stalock on the glove side with a shot from the right side.
"I didn't feel like we had the jump we need all night. We were soft in all areas and that's not how we need to play like right now," Raddysh said.
ICE CHIPS
Chicago D Andreas Englund, who injured his hamstring against Ottawa on Monday, was not active. ... Detroit RW Robby Fabbri suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... Larkin has 23 power-play points this season. ... Chiarot recorded his 100th career assist on Raymond's goal. ... The Red Wings' victory was just their fifth in the last 17 meetings with the Blackhawks.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Visit Florida on Friday.
Red Wings: Play a home-and-home set against the NHL-leading Bruins, beginning with a road game on Saturday afternoon.