By Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press on October 21, 2023.
OTTAWA – Joe Veleno scored twice while Dylan Larkin added a goal and two assists as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Saturday afternoon. The game marked the return of Alex DeBrincat, who was dealt to Detroit earlier this summer. And the Canadian Tire Centre gathering of 18,834 made DeBrincat know he was persona non grata. Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron also scored for Detroit (4-1-0), which is on a four-game win streak. Ville Husso was solid in goal, stopping 36 shots. Jake Sanderson and Ridly Greig scored for Ottawa (3-2-0), which had its three-game win streak snapped. Joonas Korpisalo made 18 saves. Detroit scored twice early in the third period to cement the win. The Red Wings registered their third power-play goal just 28 seconds in when Larkin scored. Then Veleno recorded his second of the game on a great pass from Daniel Sprong. Greig got his first of the season when his shot bounced in off Husso’s blocker. Two goals allowed Detroit to jump out to a 3-1 lead in the second. A nice Christian Fischer drop pass to an open Veleno put Detroit ahead 2-1. The Red Wings followed with their second power-play goal when Perron took the puck off his skate and still got enough on his shot despite Erik Brannstrom being on him in close. Ottawa outshot Detroit 14-3 in the first but the score was 1-1 as both teams scored power-play goals. Sanderson scored off a nice pass from Brady Tkachuk but with less than two minutes remaining, Larkin found Gostisbehere in the slot to make it 1-1. INTERESTING FACT OR STAT Detroit’s win was its first in Ottawa since Feb, 2, 2019. NOTES: Artem Zub was unable to play for the Senators after taking a puck or stick to the face Wednesday against Washington. Defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker was recalled from AHL Belleville. Detroit’s Jonatan Berggren was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids under emergency conditions and Robby Fabbri went on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 12. Fabbri is expected to miss a month with a lower-body injury. UP NEXT: The Senators will host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. Detroit is home to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2023. 17