RECAP: Red Wings 'played hard and inspired' in 7-4 win over Penguins

DETROIT -- So much of the Detroit Red Wings' season thus far has been about how the club responds to adversity.

And after head coach Derek Lalonde received a game misconduct in the second period of Tuesday's contest, the Red Wings collectively banded together to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a hard-fought 7-4 victory at Little Caesars Arena.
"The guys came together," said Detroit associate coach Bob Boughner, who spoke to the media postgame in place of Lalonde. "They played hard and inspired. That team over there (Pittsburgh) is fighting for their lives and for a playoff spot."
David Perron scored a third-period hat trick and captain Dylan Larkin had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who snapped a three-game home losing streak.
"We had that emotion tonight that we had early in the season," said Larkin, who surpassed the 70-point mark for the second time in his NHL career. "It was good to see."
Jonatan Berggren opened the scoring for Detroit with a power-play goal at 11:03 of the first period before Andrew Copp lit the lamp just 34 seconds later. Dominik Kubalik made it a 3-0 game at 16:07 of the same frame with his 19th tally of the season.
In the second, the Penguins rallied by scoring three unanswered goals in a 4:01 span. Lalonde was ejected after arguing a call on Pittsburgh's third goal of the period.
"Newsy handled it well," Larkin said. "He got out of there, gave it to the assistants and trusted them."
After the Penguins tied the game, 4-4, at 5:26 of the third, the Red Wings pulled away with three straight goals. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, playing in his 100th career NHL game, made 35 saves in his first win with Detroit since Nov. 6.
The Red Wings improved to 32-32-9 (73 points) overall, while Pittsburgh dropped to 36-28-10 (82 points).
NEXT UP: Detroit will host the Carolina Hurricanes for Teacher Appreciation Night on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

Detroit 1, Pittsburgh 0 (11:03, 1st period)
Austin Czarnik collected a pass from Joe Veleno at the goal line, then set up Berggren in the slot for the game-opening goal with one second remaining on the power play.

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 0 (11:37, 1st period)
Copp tipped Moritz Seider's point shot past Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith to double Detroit's first-period lead. Pius Suter also recorded an assist on Copp's ninth goal of the season.

Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 0 (16:07, 1st period)
Jordan Oesterle passed the puck inside the left face-off circle to Gustav Lindstrom, who fired a shot from the point that was deflected off Kubalik and into the back of the net.

Pittsburgh 1, Detroit 3 (4:40, 2nd period)
Jason Zucker tapped in a pass from Rickard Rakell to get Pittsburgh on the scoreboard.
Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 3 (7:46, 2nd period)
Evgeni Malkin ripped a shot from the high slot that was deflected by Jake Guentzel into the back of the net on the power play.
Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 3 (8:41, 2nd period)
Jeff Carter set up in front of Detroit's crease and managed to get a piece of Bryan Rust's shot, then snuck it past Nedeljkovic to tie the game.
Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 3 (4:05, 3rd period)
Perron, assisted by Larkin, scored his first goal of what became a memorable third period.

Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 4 (5:26, 3rd period)
The Penguins tied the contest again when Josh Archibald scored a wrap-around goal.
Detroit 5, Pittsburgh 4 (16:20, 3rd period)
Perron buried a shot from the left face-off circle for a power-play tally. Seider and Copp were each credited with an assist.

Detroit 6, Pittsburgh 4 (17:05, 3rd period)
Perrron notched his eighth career NHL hat trick when he lifted a backhand over DeSmith. The 34-year-old forward became the first Red Wings player with three goals in a third period since Henrik Zetterberg did it on Jan. 18, 2015. Oesterle and Larkin collected the assists.

Detroit 7, Pittsburgh 4 (19:23, 3rd period)
Suter got the puck to Larkin, and the Red Wings captain scored an empty-netter.

QUOTABLE

Boughner on if he spoke to Lalonde after the second period
"He was a little emotional about it. We all were. We thought we made a great goalie interference challenge and were frustrated with some of the consistency that we see day-in and day-out with calls like that. It happens. It was a pretty important part of the game and got them back in."
Perron on his three-goal final frame
"It's nice to contribute and help out. I haven't done it nearly enough recently, so it felt good."
Larkin on Perron's hat trick
"It was pretty cool. He's been grinding for that. Although not many guys would say it, I think a lot of the guys are happy for him."
Larkin on Lalonde's ejection
"I've seen much worse, that's all I have to say about that. I don't think he was deserving of getting ejected. It kind of fired us up and got us going, for sure. We took too many penalties, but it was an emotional game. Emotions got the best of us at times, but we played well and got one on the power play at the end when it mattered."
Larkin on Nedeljkovic's night
"It's awesome, just great to see. I'm so happy for him. I know a lot of guys in the room are. He's had a tough road, but not once has he complained or showed any signs of frustration."