Red Wings 4, Hurricanes 3
RALEIGH, N.C. - Detroit left winger Teemu Pulkkinen scored twice within a two-minute span in the third period as the Red Wings spoiled the home opener for the Carolina Hurricanes by winning 4-3 on Saturday at PNC Arena.
Goalie Petr Mrazek made 44 saves for the Red Wings in his first outing of the season.
Center Tomas Tatar assisted on the go-ahead goal as the Red Wings, who barely appeared functional for stretches earlier in the game, came away with a victory for the second night in a row. Tatar's shot was redirected by Pulkkinen.
Red Wings left winger Justin Abdelkader secured the outcome with a goal with 3:35 remaining. It came a night after his hat trick in the opener against Toronto.
Defenseman Justin Faulk's power-play goal with three seconds left for Carolina accounted for the final score.
Centers Victor Rask and Nathan Gerbe scored earlier for the Hurricanes (0-2-0), who led 2-1 after two periods.
Left winger Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring for Detroit (2-0-0). He assisted on the team's final goal.
Goalie Cam Ward stopped 15 shots for the Hurricanes.
Abdelkader, who had an assist on the first goal, has posted five points across the first two games.
Carolina took its first lead of the season with 57 seconds left in the second period when Gerbe redirected a delivery from defenseman Ryan Murphy to put the Hurricanes up 2-1.
It capped a second period of largely dominating play from the Hurricanes, who entered the third period with a 34-8 edge in shots.
The Hurricanes were unable to take advantage of any of their first four power plays, including a 5-on-3 stretch.
The Red Wings scored first on Zetterberg's goal 11:33 into the second period.
The Hurricanes answered with Rask's tally less than four minutes later. Rookie defenseman Noah Hanifin picked up his first career point with an assist on that goal.
The Hurricanes outshot Detroit 18-2 in a scoreless first period. During that time, Carolina lost center Riley Nash to an unspecified injury.
NOTES: The Detroit Red Wings were coming off a season-opening victory a night earlier against the Toronto Maple Leafs and ex-Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. This matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes probably was not quite as emotional, but second-year Carolina coach Bill Peters was a Red Wings assistant coach for three seasons before taking his first head coaching position. ... D James Wisniewski of Carolina is scheduled for surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained Thursday night in the opener. The injury occurred less than a minute into his debut with the Hurricanes. ... The Hurricanes called up D Danny Biega to fill Wisniewski's roster spot, though he was scratched Saturday night. D Michal Jordan joined the lineup. ... It marked home debuts for Carolina D Noah Hanifin, a rookie, along with RW Kris Versteeg and C Joakim Nordstrom. ... The Red Wings play Tuesday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning before a rematch with the Hurricanes on Friday. ... Carolina is back in action Tuesday night at home against the Florida Panthers.