DeBrincat hat trick lifts Red Wings past Flames for 5th straight win

DETROIT -- Alex DeBrincat scored a hat trick and had an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings won their fifth straight game, 6-2 against the Calgary Flames at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

It was the fifth NHL hat trick for DeBrincat, who became the first Red Wings player to score eight goals in his first six games with the franchise, passing Ed Litzenberger’s previous record of six in 1961-62.

“Right now, everything is going into the net, but that’s not going to last forever,” DeBrincat said. “I’m playing with Dylan [Larkin] and [Lucas Raymond], who are obviously great players, and we’re playing great in our d-zone, which leads to odd-man rushes.”

DeBrincat leads the NHL in goals (eight) and points (12). Larkin has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) after recording a goal and an assist, extending his point streak to six games.

Justin Holl and Raymond each had three assists for Detroit (5-1-0), which has won five straight since losing its season opener to the New Jersey Devils.

“This is only six games, but it is more noticeable when you have a streak like this at the front end of the season,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “Last season, we had a 7-1 stretch just before the (NHL trade) deadline that was a lot like this.”

Andrew Mangiapane and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames (2-3-1), who have lost four of five. Dan Vladar made 24 saves.

“They were a hungrier team,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “If you turn over as many pucks as we did, you’re asking for a steady dose of odd-man rushes coming back against you. That’s not a recipe for winning at any level.”

Calgary played without top defenseman Rasmus Andersson who began serving his four-game suspension for a high hit on Patrik Laine of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

The Red Wings are only the second 21st-century team to score 30 goals in their first six games, joining the 2013-14 San Jose Sharks. James Reimer made 29 saves.

“We’re averaging about five goals a game and we came into tonight with our power play at 50 percent,” Lalonde said. “Of course, that’s not sustainable for anyone, but you ride these streaks as long as you can.”

DeBrincat gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 1:59 of the first period, tapping in Holl’s pass for his sixth goal in six games with Detroit.

Joe Veleno made it 2-0 at 9:44 when Ben Chiarot's point shot deflected off his leg and past Vladar. Larkin extended it to 3-0 at 2:00 of the second period, scoring off a cross-slot pass from DeBrincat.

“I think tonight was our most complete 5-on-5 game as a team,” Larkin said. “We scored at big times, and we kept getting the puck to (DeBrincat).”

Mangiapane tapped in a rebound to make it 3-1 at 12:12.

DeBrincat pushed it to 4-1 at 13:33 after beating Vladar off a Larkin pass, but Sharangovich cut it to 4-2 at 18:34 with a wrist shot over Reimer’s shoulder.

Jake Walman scored from the point to make it 5-2 at 3:07. DeBrincat finished his hat trick on a wrist shot from the left circle at 3:34 for the 6-2 final.

“We were slow everywhere,” Flames defenseman Chris Tanev said. “We’re not going to win if we play like we did today -- we’re giving up a lot of 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s -- and teams are capitalizing on them.”

NOTES: DeBrincat is the fourth Red Wings player to score eight goals in the first six games of a season, and the first since Brendan Shanahan in 2001-02. It was also done by Mud Bruneteau (1943-44) and Paul Henderson (1966-67). … DeBrincat’s 12 points in the first six games are one shy of the Red Wings record set by Syd Howe (1943-44) and tied by Marcel Dionne (1974-75) and Henrik Zetterberg (2007-08). … Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau entered the game with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in 38 games against Detroit, but finished minus-4 without a shot on goal in 13:58 of ice time.