Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season and the host Detroit Red Wings blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Rookie defenseman Albert Johansson scored his second career goal. Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper also scored for the Red Wings, who had lost seven of their previous eight games. Mrazek was making his third start since he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost four of their last five games. They finished off a four-game road trip with a 1-1-2 mark. Vegas gave up a tying goal with 14 seconds remaining and lost a shootout at Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
Detroit had an early power play but didn’t get a shot on goal during the man advantage. The Red Wings had an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal during the opening period but neither side was able to break through.
An interference penalty against Detroit’s Michael Rasmussen and a roughing call against Samsonov resulted in a 4-on-4 early in the second period. The open ice didn’t end the deadlock.
Johansson scored with a nifty move at 7:58 of the second period. He took a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko and skated through the right circle. When Samsonov strayed out of his net, Johansson patiently skated around him and deposited the puck inside the goalpost. J.T. Compher picked up the second assist.
Detroit had another power play late in the period when Alex Pietrangelo was whistled for slashing but couldn’t add to its lead.
Raymond ended a 10-game goal drought at 4:51 of the third when he skated into the slot and fired a shot over Samsonov’s glove. Elmer Soderblom was credited with an assist on Raymond’s 23rd goal this season.
Kasper made it 3-0 with 8:46 remaining while scoring off an Erik Gustafsson feed. Patrick Kane also picked up an assist on Kasper’s 13th goal.
Detroit, which is trying to get back into the Eastern Conference wild card race, plays its next four games on the road, including a rematch with Vegas on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
