Viktor Arvidsson scored his sixth career hat trick and added an assist as the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. AP reported that Detroit won despite the suspension of former captain Dylan Larkin. It was the third four-point game of Arvidsson's career. AP also noted the win gave Detroit a 5-1-1 record over its last seven games. None of the feed summaries we have say how long Larkin's suspension is or what led to it.
Chicago scored first, and our box score shows the game was 1-0 to the Blackhawks after one period. Connor Bedard scored for them. Detroit tied it in the second and scored three times in the third. Sportsnet's recap says the Red Wings "surged late" and credits Alex DeBrincat with two assists. The box score matches that: DeBrincat had two helpers and finished plus-3. Lucas Raymond had the fourth goal, so Arvidsson accounted for three of Detroit's four.
Detroit controlled the shot count 29-19, and Arvidsson put six of those on net. The Red Wings went 1-for-4 on the power play. Arvidsson played 4:06 on the man advantage, and DeBrincat and Raymond played about as much. Chicago had one power play all night and didn't score on it. John Gibson stopped 18 of 19 for Detroit. Spencer Knight faced 28 shots for Chicago and allowed three goals. Patrick Kane finished minus-3 with a minor penalty. One Yahoo headline mentions him by name, but the reporting we have doesn't say anything he did in the game.
Arvidsson's season line is now 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 12 games, so this game accounts for most of his goal total. Last season he had 25 goals and 54 points in 69 games. DeBrincat leads the team among the players we checked with 12 points, 6 of them goals, in 11 games. Larkin has 5 points in 9 games, which helps show why the offense had to come from elsewhere on Thursday.
The win leaves Detroit 6-4 and seventh in the Atlantic Division, on a two-game winning streak. The Red Wings also won 4-3 at Edmonton on Oct. 26, after a 4-1 loss at Calgary on Oct. 24. Chicago is 4-8 and eighth in the Central. The Blackhawks beat Los Angeles 2-1 on Tuesday and lost 3-2 to Florida on Sunday. One Yahoo item describes Thursday's loss as a continuation of their road woes.
Detroit hosts St. Louis on Saturday, Oct. 31, and the sources don't say whether Larkin will be available. Chicago plays the same day at Boston.
Sat, Oct 31, 1:00 PM ET
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