“When we have quality wins like this -- a 2-1, a 4-1 -- it’s usually driven by Dylan,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “And that line (Larkin, DeBrincat, Patrick Kane) had some pop tonight, and they did a good job.”
Andrew Copp and Joe Veleno also scored for the Red Wings (6-5-1), who have won two in a row. Cam Talbot made 28 saves.
“We just didn’t give much,” Larkin said. "Our goaltending was good. I thought that was the best third period we’ve played, the best 60 minutes we’ve played all season and something to build on. We were more on the attack, more rolling four lines, short shifts, changing in their zone, kind of suffocating them.”
Nick Foligno scored for the Blackhawks (5-8-1), who had won two straight and three of four. Petr Mrazek made 21 saves.
“Yeah, man, we should be four or five games in a row right now,” Foligno said. “It’s how you have to play in order to keep yourself in the mix. You’ve got to find a way to win two or three and four and get on a little string of wins here. It’s frustrating for us because we know where we’re sitting and where we’re trying to get to.
“But I think our style of play, we’re doing a lot of good things, but you’re not reaping the benefits because those little ones, the momentums, the understanding what it takes to win, are not as detailed as they need to be right now.”
DeBrincat gave Detroit a 1-0 lead with two seconds remaining in the first period, putting in the rebound of Larkin’s shot on the rush.
“It was huge, the fact that we did not have a very good period,” Lalonde said. “The group’s pretty good judging themselves on performance. Even though I think we had some looks in the first, we’ll take, probably, the chances for versus chances against in that period. But we weren’t great. We were a little flat. We didn’t manage the puck very well.
“To come out of that period up 1-0 was huge. I give our guys a little credit. They put it on themselves to be a little bit better in the second, which we were, and I liked out third.”
