Special Teams, Lyon Shine As Red Wings Down Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba —What a difference two weeks have made in the Detroit Red Wings.

As the NHL’s Christmas break began, the Wings looked dead in the water, leading to Derek Lalonde’s dismissal.

Since then, the Red Wings have powered themselves back into relevancy in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

That comes after winning their fourth game in a row, 4-2 over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

How The Wings Won

Detroit got standout play from its special teams in the win, but coach Todd McLellan said there was more to the effort than that.

‘We had a real good checking mentality, especially in the first (and) put them back on their heels a little bit, ” McLellan said. “After that, we played pretty good positionally. We bent, we didn’t break. We needed some saves, and caught all of those. Proud of the guys. They worked hard. They deserved the win tonight.”

It was the Red Wings’ first win in Winnipeg in five tries.

Alex Lyon got the win in net, stopping 21 of 23 shots and getting some puck luck with four shots hitting the goal posts.

“I don’t think they had that much to shoot at, to be honest with you, I forced them to hit posts,” Lyon joked, then turned serious. “Now, sometimes you’re lucky, and sometimes it goes the other way, and and it’s just how it goes.”

That’s how it’s going for a Red Wings team on a roll that has them having fun on and off the ice.

The result: A playoff push in the Eastern Conference is no longer just a hope.

Talking Playoffs Again

The Red Wings are just two points behind eighth-place Ottawa, although the Senators are tied with Columbus and Pittsburgh for the eighth spot.

There are currently too many moving parts in the East to predict the same will be true when the Red Wings play host to the Senators on Tuesday night, but the Wimgs are back in the conversation.

The Red Wings, whose percentage of power-play goals leads the NHL, got a pair with the man advantage.

The Red Wings have scored 28 percent of their goals that way this season, while the Jets have the best power-play unit in the league.

Dylan Larkin got the Wings on the board in the first period. Lucas Raymond made it 2-0 early in the second.

“We built that through just working and working for pucks, loose pucks,” Larkin said in a TV interview between the second and third periods. “I think both goals you saw, we won puck battles and then got it in our hands, controlled it and then attacked the net.”

Alex DeBrincat made it 3-1 early in the third. Winnipeg made it close on a goal with less than four minutes to go, but Larkin saeled it with an empty-net goal with 28 seconds remaining,

Ice Chips

Patrick Kane’s return to form continues. Kane had a pair of assists, lifting him past Alex Delvecchio for 28th on the NHL all-time list.

Detroit native Connor Hellebuyck took the loss in net for Winnipeg, thwarting his attempt at his 300th NHL win.

Jeff Petry (lower-body injury) didn’t suit up. Still no word as to how long Petry will be out.