Red Wings score 4 in 1st period, cruise past Blues

DETROIT -- Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen each had a goal and an assist for Detroit (31-20-6), which has won four straight games. Alex Lyon made 22 saves.

The Red Wings, who have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the past seven seasons, currently hold the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

"We're in a stretch where we are playing some really good hockey, and we need to take advantage of it," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "If we want to get over that (playoff) line at the end of the season, we're going to need every last point we can get."

Zachary Bolduc scored his first NHL goal for the Blues (30-25-2), who have lost three of four. Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on 14 shots in the first period and was replaced by Joel Hofer (18 saves) at the start of the second period.

"I think we had 22 or 24 turnovers in the first period -- that's normally how many we have in a game," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "'Binner' was under siege out there -- this had nothing to do with him. He didn't have a chance."

Kane made it 1-0 33 seconds into the first period, one-timing a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere.

Rasmussen made it 2-0 at 4:21, finishing off a 2-on-1 break with Lucas Raymond, and a clearing attempt hit Robby Fabbri and went into the net to give Detroit a 3-0 lead at 5:24.

"It's not that we didn't come out ready," Blues forward Brayden Schenn said. "We just weren't very smart in the first five minutes."

DeBrincat scored to make it 4-0 at 19:02 with a power-play goal.

"We knew we hadn't been getting the starts we needed," DeBrincat said. "That was a point of emphasis tonight, and we came out with three quick goals. After that, we just wanted to keep it going."

Bolduc got the Blues within 4-1 at 12:28 of the second period, scoring on his 21st birthday in his second NHL game.

"I'm pretty lucky -- I didn't have to wait long for my first one," he said. "It felt good, but this was an important game and a tough loss."

J.T. Compher put Detroit ahead 5-1 when Raymond's shot bounced off his skate an in at 16:56.

DeBrincat scored for a 6-1 lead at 18:34 converting on a 3-on-1.

"We've had a couple of games where we had big leads and given them up so it's good to stay focused in this game and hold them to one," DeBrincat said.

The Red Wings visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Kane will play at United Center for the first time as a visitor, and Chris Chelios will have his No. 7 jersey retired. Chelios spent nine seasons with Chicago and 10 with the Red Wings.

"I'm ecstatic about tomorrow," Lalonde said. "It's an honor to be a head coach in this league, and you rarely get moments like that -- [Chelios] getting his number retired and Patrick going home. We'll be excited spectators."

NOTES: DeBrincat scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season, the fourth straight season and sixth time in seven seasons he's scored at least 20 goals. … Bolduc became the first player to score his first NHL goal on his birthday since David Kampf did so with the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 12, 2018. … Kane has more goals (28), assists (44) and points (72) against the Blues than any other active player, doing so in 74 games played.