RECAP: Red Wings 'found a way to win' against Penguins, 6-3

DETROIT -- Returning home after their first shutout victory of the 2023-24 season at Columbus, the Detroit Red Wings carried that momentum over Wednesday night by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, at Little Caesars Arena.

"It just feels like a goal can come from any line at any point," said Andrew Copp, who recorded his first multi-goal game with the Red Wings. "I think that gives you some confidence even more to play the right way, because if you don't give up much, we're going to find our chances with the group we have."

Goalie Ville Husso made 30 saves for Detroit (3-1-0 overall; 6 points), which won its third straight game. Pittsburgh moved to 2-2-0 (4 points).

The Penguins found the back of the net just 53 seconds into the first period to take a quick 1-0 lead.

"A really poor mishap on the first goal against," Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. "We have a neutral-zone design to have numbers back and a nice gap. For whatever reason, we backed off and gave (Evgeni) Malkin, maybe the hottest player in the league right now, an unbelievably poor gap."

But Alex DeBrincat evened things up, 1-1, at 12:23 when he finished a backdoor pass from Austin Czarnik. Shayne Gostisbehere recorded the secondary assist on DeBrincat's first goal of the game.

"It seems like a simple goal, a backdoor tap-in," Lalonde said. "But (DeBrincat) just gets to spots."

Ben Chiarot then scored his first goal of the campaign at 5:21 of the second, putting the Red Wings ahead, 2-1. The 32-year-old defenseman was assisted by captain Dylan Larkin and Jeff Petry.

Copp made it 3-1 at 15:42, deflecting Petry’s point shot out of the air past opposing netminder Tristan Jarry. Michael Rasmussen also picked up an assist on Copp’s first goal of the night.

With 2:11 remaining in the second, David Perron, who was assisted by Larkin and DeBrincat, pushed Detroit's lead to 4-1 by finishing a rebound in front of Pittsburgh's crease on a power play.

"We have so many options and shooting threats that it's hard for (opposing teams) to cover all of them," DeBrincat said about his club's power play.

The Penguins cut their deficit in half, 4-2, at 3:37 of the third before pulling back within one at 13:03. But Detroit put the game away late in the final frame, with Copp and DeBrincat each scoring empty-net goals just 21 seconds apart for the 6-3 final.

With his second tally against Pittsburgh, DeBrincat became the fourth player in Red Wings history with five goals through his first four games with the franchise.

"Credit to our guys," Lalonde said. "We found a way to win against a really good team."

NEXT UP: Detroit will venture to Canadian Tire Centre to battle the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on if he feels the Red Wings are overachieving through their first four games of 2023-24

"It's tough. It's just so early. It just feels like a continuation from a really productive camp. I think we've played four pretty good games. Not perfect, even tonight we had some simple mistakes in our game that lead to some pretty easy offense. But again, on a whole, I just think it's a good stretch of four games coming off a really good camp."

Lalonde on Detroit's third period

"I didn't mind our start. We had a couple looks, could have easily extended it and got a fifth goal. Both goals against were just really poor arrival tracks back into our zone where we just didn't sort it. We gave easy shots through traffic. And then, maybe a little credit to our competition, we got on our heels. I didn't mind the start of it, but didn't like once they scored."

Lalonde on DeBrincat's impressive start to the season

"I'm sure it helps him immensely. It's exciting for everyone but at the same time, there's some pressure there. He's had some great success in this league."

DeBrincat on why the offense is clicking early on this season

"It all stems from hard work. We're working in the o-zone, getting pucks out of the d-zone quick and getting them tired in their zone. I think that's been a big thing. Obviously we have a lot of great depth here. Every line can score."