Larkin, Bertuzzi propel Red Wings past Flames for 5th win in row

CALGARY -- Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists, and Dylan Larkin had three assists for the Detroit Red Wings in their fifth straight win, 5-2 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

"It's a great feeling. We've been looking for something like this for a while now, quite honestly," Detroit forward David Perron said. "All year we've been talking about if we want to be in this [Stanley Cup] Playoff picture, eventually you have to make up points on other teams. I think we've done that recently."
Dominik Kubalik scored twice, Robby Fabbri had a goal and an assist, and Magnus Hellberg made 33 saves for the Red Wings (26-20-8), who have won seven of their past nine games, including a 5-4 shootout victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
"We've got to keep going," Perron said. "Any night you don't gather points, other teams you're chasing or around [you] are all winning, it seems like. That's just the way the League goes. It's a good feeling to be a part of that right now."

Dillon Dube scored in his third consecutive game, and Dan Vladar made 19 saves for the Flames (25-19-11), who have lost four of five (1-2-2), including 2-1 at Detroit on Feb. 9.
"We've been a roller coaster all year," Calgary defenseman Chris Tanev said. "Good one game, [stink] the next. Good one game, [stink] the next. That's on the leaders in here. That's me. My fault.
"It's a must-win game. We needed to win the game, and we lost to the same team twice in a week. We need to be better everywhere."
Fabbri gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 2:27 of the second period with a wrist shot that went short side from the right face-off circle on a power play before Dube tied it 2-2 at 9:03, scoring glove side on a partial breakaway.
Kubalik restored Detroit's lead at 15:21 with a one-timer on a cross-slot pass from Larkin to make it 3-2, and Bertuzzi tapped in a pass from Fabbri on a power play to extend it to 4-2 at 18:43.
"We finally kind of have the lines the way we kind of want them," Perron said. "Everything's starting to click, everyone's starting to find their role. It's a good feeling to string wins together right now. I think the challenge as we go here is to keep pushing. We don't want to stop here."

Pius Suter picked up a drop pass from Filip Zadina and scored five-hole from the right circle at 3:55 of the third period for the 5-2 final.
The Red Wings were outshot 15-4 in the third.
"Obviously, it's a great feeling," Hellberg said. "You feel the team has some good confidence. It feels like we just keep grinding. We trust each other and everybody works hard for each other. A lot of smiles in this locker room after this win for sure."
Elias Lindholm gave Calgary a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 15:22 of the first period when he forced a turnover by Hellberg with his forecheck before finishing a return pass from Mikael Backlund.
Kubalik tied it 1-1 at 18:59 with a snap shot from just inside the right circle that deflected off Flames defenseman Michael Stone.
"It's the best time of the year," Backlund said. "You want to be in a playoff spot. You want to play meaningful games like we are. You want to battle. And we should be coming out with more energy. We should play better. It's tough. If I had the answers, we would have fixed it."

NOTES: Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson had an assist in 19:49 of ice time after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. He was hit by a vehicle while riding a scooter in Detroit on Feb. 8. ... The Red Wings are 17-0-2 when leading after two periods. ... Fabbri has scored in three straight games and has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak, including three consecutive multipoint games. ... Perron had an assist for his 700th NHL point (283 goals, 417 assists) in 1,027 games. … Dube has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a three-game point streak. ... Hellberg won for the first time since Dec. 31 (three starts). ... Vladar has lost consecutive starts in regulation for the first time since November. He lost to Detroit on Feb. 9. ... Larkin has 12 points (six goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak. He has four consecutive multipoint games.