Kronwall helps Red Wings beat Coyotes 5-1
Dec 3, 2015, 9:13 PM
DETROIT — Niklas Kronwall and Gustav Nyquist scored 18 seconds apart in the first period and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 Thursday night to earn at least one point in a ninth straight game.
Justin Abdelkader, Danny DeKeyser and Darren Helm also scored for Detroit, which played five straight overtime games before opening a 3-0 lead in the first period and shutting down the Coyotes.
Detroit lost two players to injuries. Teemu Pulkkinen left with an upper-body injury after being taken into the boards by Martin Hanzal at 6:19 of the first period. About six minutes later, Drew Miller took a shoulder to the chin by Klas Dahlbeck. Miller was wobbly when skating off and he did not return.
Jordan Martinook scored for the Coyotes, who had a goal overturned just 1:21 into the game.
Dahlbeck’s shot beat Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. But the on-ice call was reversed because it was determined that Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy was offside on the play.
Shortly after Miller left, the Red Wings scored as Abdelkader took a pass from rookie Dylan Larkin and backhanded the puck past Mike Smith at 12:30.
Kronwall made it 2-0 at 19:18 with a shot from the slot. Just 18 seconds later, Nyquist beat Smith with a shot from outside the blue line.
Anders Lindback replaced Smith in goal to start the second period.
The Coyotes cut the lead to 3-1 at 5:52 of the second when Martinook scored from the left circle. But the Wings regained the three-goal lead when DeKeyser scored from the high slot at 7:18.
Darren Helm added to Detroit’s total with his first goal of the season at 4:28 of the third period. It was Helm’s first goal since April 9, 2015 at Montreal.
NOTES: Coyotes captain Shane Doan missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. Coach Dave Tippett said there was a chance Doan could return Friday at Buffalo. … Forward Steve Downie returned to the lineup after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. … Red Wings defenseman Kronwall played in his 700th career game. … Howard played in his 350th career game, his 342nd start.
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