NEWARK, NJ — Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves, including 21 in the second period, in his season debut to help the Detroit Red Wings defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at the Prudential Center on Saturday.
“‘Ned’ probably bailed us out in the second, on a huge push by them,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “They have a ton of skill, they come in waves, and he was there to get us out of that period.”
Dylan Larkin had a goal and two assists, Jakub Vrana and Ben Chiarot each had a goal and an assist, and Lucas Raymond had two assists for the Red Wings, who swept back-to-back games. Detroit defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 at home Friday Ville Husso made 29 saves.
“I just love the way we battled, the way we blocked shots, the way we played together when we went down,” Larkin said. “[Nedeljkovic] played a great game. He handled everything in front of him and I think that’s two in a row for us where we’ve got great goaltending.”
Video: DET@NJD: Larkin doubles lead in waning seconds of 2nd
Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Miles Wood scored for the Devils, who lost their second straight to start the season. Vitek Vanecekacquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on July 8, made 17 saves in his New Jersey debut.
“We all know it’s not where we want to be, to a man,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Not one guy in that locker room wants to accept where we’re at. Everybody cares. I think you saw that with the effort that was going in the second period. If you look at some of the mistakes that they made that we didn’t ‘t convert on, that’s probably the difference in the game.”
Hamilton gave the Devils a 1-0 lead on a snap shot from the left point at 4:45 of the first period.
Chiarot tied it 1-1 on a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle at 1:30 of the second period. It was the defenseman’s first goal for Detroit.
Vrana gave Detroit a 2-1 lead on a wrist shot from the left circle at 4:34 of the second.
Wood made it 2-2 on a shot from the slot 10 seconds later at 4:44.
David Perron‘s first goal with the Red Wings, from low in the left face-off circle, gave them a 3-2 lead at 17:02.
Larkin made it 4-2 on a shot in the slot with one second remaining in the period off a backhand feed. Andrew Copp moments later Vanecek lost his stick.
“I liked the maturity of our team to take that momentum (after Larkin’s goal),” Lalonde said. “Anytime you get scored on late in a period, it’s tough. There’s a huge momentum swing, but it was up to us not to give momentum back early in the third period and I thought we did that.”
Video: DET@NJD: Perron buries rebound to give Red Wings lead
Nedeljkovic’s big second period included a save against Jack Hughes on a backhand in the slot 53 seconds into the period and consecutive stops against Dawson Mercer moments later.
Dominik Kubalik scored on a backhand from the slot off a turnover to make it 5-2 at 10:55 of the third period. It was his first goal for the Red Wings.
Several new faces in Detroit’s lineup are having a big impact early in the season. This offseason, Copp signed a five-year, $21.25 million contract ($5.625 million average annual value); Chiarot signed a four-year, $19 million contract ($4.75 million AAV); and Perron ($9.5 million; $4.75 million AAV) and Kubalik ($5 million; $2.5 million AAV) each signed a two-year contract. Husso was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues.
“The depth is better,” Larkin said. “It’s exciting. I really believe that last year, a game like that, we would have been a lot closer but our veteran leadership guys that have been in big situations throughout their careers, really stepped up vocally. On the bench, they really were hammering us to play the right way the last 20 minutes.”
Video: DET@NJD: Vrana goes upstairs from tough angle
New Jersey center Nico Hischier had three shots on goal and was 11-for-16 on face-offs in 17:16 of ice time after missing the 5-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday due to a hamstring strain.
“We can’t get too low. It’s two games,” said Hischier, the Devils captain. “We battled hard. It’s really frustrating, but there is way more to go. We can’t get too low. We’re looking to win the next one. That’s the mindset right now. We can’t get too low; 80 more to go.”
NOTES: Detroit forward Tyler Bertuzzi Sustained an upper-body injury after blocking a shot by Ryan Graves at 4:15 of the second. He will be reevaluated on Monday. …Forward Pius Suter was 4-for-7 on face-offs in 8:58 in his season debut for the Red Wings. … Devils forward Fabian Zetterlund had an assist and played 9:40 in his season debut.
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