In Detroit, the Red Wings extended the Minnesota Wild’s losing streak to seven games on Sunday i a 4-1 decision.
David Perron hit for a double in the win, including the game’s opening goal in the first period.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever dealt with a more competitive player,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “He drives us because he has such a passion to win.”
Alex Lyon made 37 saves in the win.
Detroit improved to 11-6-3) off their third straight win.
Perron scored with four minutes gone in the first for the 1-0 lead.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored with 12 seconds left in the stanza to tie the 1-1.
Detroit reclaimed the lead, 2-1, at 16:53 of the middle frame.
That one is on me,” the Wild’s Frederick Gaudreau said. “They came in 2-on-2 and I made a bad read.”
The Wild dropped to 5-10-4.
“I think frustration is turning to anger. I hope they are as angry as we are,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “What makes me mad is we’re making the same mistakes and the same guys are not pulling their weight. Most nights, our mistakes don’t give us a true chance of winning the hockey game.”
Perron hit for his double at 1:29 of the third period.
“They told me this afternoon that I was two away from 300, so I’m glad I got it out of the way and we can keep moving forward,” Perron said. “The guys made two great plays to get me open looks.”
Shayne Gostisbehere scored into an empty net with 23 seconds left on the game clock for the 4-1 final.
“After the game in Sweden where we gave up a two-goal lead in the third (3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 17), [Larkin] said we need to figure out what kind of team we’re going to be,” Gostisbehere said. “We looked in the mirror and realized that if we do this the right way, we’re going to get results.”
Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves in the loss.
“Seven in a row is unacceptable, especially with this group of guys,” Minnesota’s Pat Maroon said. “We should be [ticked] off right now and we should be [ticked] off when we play the next game.
“We need to understand what is at stake here. We’re losing points by the sack.”
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