Larkin's first NHL hat trick lifts Red Wings past Devils

DETROIT -- Dylan Larkin scored his first NHL hat trick for the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

"This feels great because it took a little longer than I hoped to get one," said Larkin, who is in his seventh season. "I don't even remember the last one I had. It was probably in minor hockey, because I don't think I ever had one in Triple-A or junior, either."
Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice, and Thomas Greiss made 31 saves for the Red Wings (15-13-3), who had lost four of their past five games.
Detroit played without coach Jeff Blashill and assistant Alex Tanguay, who are in COVID-19 protocol. Forward Filip Zadina also entered protocol prior to the game.
"This is really a huge win for us," Larkin said. "We've had to deal with a lot in the last few days, so to get guys stepping into the lineup and helping us get two points was really important."

Ben Simon, who is the coach of Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League, ran the bench while Red Wings assistant Doug Houda handled the meetings between periods.
"We are definitely giving [Simon] the win," Houda said. "This was a tough situation for him to have to come up here and take over on short notice."
Akira Schmid made 25 saves for the Devils (10-14-5), who have lost five straight and nine of their past 10 games (1-8-1).
"We're beating ourselves most of the time," Devils defenseman Damon Severson said. "We play well in stretches and then we start shooting ourselves in the foot. It's not fun right now."
New Jersey played with 17 skaters with forward Jesper Bratt being a late scratch because of a non-COVID illness.
"We knew we were shorthanded tonight, which put us in a tough spot," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "We started out the way we wanted to play, but their top guys just had a better game than our top guys."
Larkin gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 15:39 of the first period. Filip Hronek sent a long pass off the back boards, and Larkin got to the puck and shot into an open net after Schmid misjudged the bounce.
Michael McLeod tied it 1-1 at 19:11 when his shot from the high slot fluttered past Greiss.
Larkin made it 2-1 at 11:48 of the second period, beating Schmid from the slot off a pass from Vladislav Namestnikov, and Bertuzzi scored 39 seconds later to push the lead to 3-1.
"This is the same thing that has happened to our club over and over," Ruff said. "We make mistakes that turn into goals against. We're just hurting ourselves too many times with poor puck management."

Larkin completed the hat trick at 15:47, breaking in alone down the right wing and scoring blocker side to make it 4-1.
Larkin decided not to keep the puck after the game, instead giving it to forward Kyle Criscuolo, who had the primary assist on the play for his first NHL point.
"He deserves it because he's the one who set up the whole play," Larkin said. "Getting your first NHL point is always a huge deal."
Dawson Mercer scored a shorthanded goal at 17:25 to pull the Devils within 4-2, but Bertuzzi scored his second of the game at 14:07 of the third for the 5-2 final.
NOTES:With Zadina out, the Red Wings used defenseman Jordan Oesterle as a forward on the fourth line. He had three shots on goal in 10:25 of ice time. … Devils center Jack Hughes and defenseman Dougie Hamilton were each minus-4.