Red Wings explode in third to beat Knights
LAS VEGAS -- Gustav Nyquist scored two goals and Henrik Zetterberg added a goal and three assists as the Detroit Red Wings erupted for four third-period goals and handed Vegas the first loss in team history, defeating the Golden Knights 6-3 on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen, Nyquist and Luke Glendening scored during an 11-minute span in the final period for the Red Wings, who finished a four-game road trip with a 3-1 record.
About a third of the sellout crowd of 17,645 wore Red Wings jerseys and chanted "Go Red Wings Go" during the game, which was delayed briefly when several octopuses were thrown on the ice after Mantha's goal.
Detroit (4-1-0) needed only 98 seconds to take a 1-0 lead, capitalizing on a three-on-one after Vegas defenseman Jason Garrison whiffed trying to keep the puck in the zone. Zetterberg gathered the puck up and raced up the right side and then backhanded a perfect pass across the crease to a wide-open Nyquist, who flicked it into the net.
The Golden Knights (3-1-0), who misfired on a handful of early chances around the net, tied it midway through the second period when center Jonathan Marchessault scored his first goal of the year, knocking a pass across the crease from Reilly Smith into left side of the net.
Detroit regained the lead at 2-1 on a backhander by Zetterberg through Marc-Andre Fleury's pads after two Golden Knights collided to the side of the net.
Vegas then answered with two goals in the span of 87 seconds. The first was James Neal's sixth of the season off a crossing pass from defenseman David Perron followed. Left winger Erik Haula's goal followed off a shot from the left point by defenseman Luca Sbisa.
But it was all Detroit after that, starting with Mantha's goal. Nielsen followed with a goal on a nifty two-on-one with Zetterberg, Nyquist added his second goal of the game on a rebound of a shot by Mantha. Glendening capped the scoring with a shot from the top of the right circle over the shoulder of Fleury.
Petr Mrazek made his second start of the season in net for the Red Wings and finished with 24 saves. Fleury stopped 21.
NOTES: The Golden Knights announced that they are auctioning special white autographed practice jerseys the team wore during warm-ups at Tuesday night's first-ever NHL home game in Las Vegas. Proceeds will go to benefit families of the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Strip as well as first responders. A link can be found on the team's NHL.com web page. ... Detroit D Danny DeKeyser missed his second straight game with a sore left foot suffered while blocking a shot in Tuesday night's 4-2 loss at Dallas. ... The Red Wings play three of their next four games starting with a Monday night game against Tampa Bay at Little Caesars Arena. ... RW Luke Witkowski joined DeKeyser as scratches for Detroit. D Griffin Reinhart, D Jon Merrill and D Brad Hunt were scratches for the Golden Knights.