Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat on Wednesday each scored twice, while Ville Husso made 30 saves as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3.
“We have a lot of depth here and you can see that every line can score,” said DeBrincat, one of the many players acquired by Detroit desperately hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. “We just have so many options that it is hard for anyone to cover all of them.”
Copp scored in a three-goal second period to give Detroit a 4-1 lead, but Pittsburgh pulled within a goal midway through the third period.
Photo: Rick Osentoski-USA Today
“I loved the pushback,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
Copp sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1 minute, 32 seconds to go. DeBrincat also took advantage of the Penguins pulling their goaltender by restoring the Red Wings’ three-goal lead 21 seconds later.
DeBrincat has five goals and eight in his first four games with the franchise he grew up rooting for in suburban Detroit.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates,” DeBrincat said.
Evgeni Malkin gave the Penguins their only lead in the opening minute, when he extended his goals streak to three games. Tristan Jarry stopped 23 shots.
Ben Chiarot, David Perron and Copp scored in the second period.
“We just lost ourselves for 6 or 7 minutes,” Sullivan said.
Erik Karlsson cut Pittsburgh’s deficit to two goals early in the third period. Shortly thereafter, Copp was given a penalty shot and he could not get it past Jarry.
Husso kept the two-goal lead midway through the third by stopping shots by Rickard Rakell and Karlsson.
The Red Wings needed the cushion because Bryan Rust redirected a shot to make it 4-3 with 6:57 left.
“They got two easy shots through traffic, and after that we were back on our heels,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said.
Detroit have won three in a row since losing the opener by a goal at New Jersey, showing some promising signs after general manager Steve Yzerman made a series of signings and trades to bolster the team’s chances.
“I think they’ve got a good team,” Sullivan said. “Some of their young players are starting to emerge and they’ve added some veteran guys that are impactful players, like DeBrincat. They’re a tough opponent. They’ve got a lot of speed in their lineup.”
In Ottawa, Josh Norris scored twice on his season debut as the Senators routed the Washington Capitals 6-1 to improve to 3-1-0.
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