DETROIT (AP) — Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers for the second time in the four days, 4-2 on Saturday.
Rookie Moritz Seider scored a big power-play goal in the third period as Detroit won for the third time in four games overall. Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Zadina and Michael Rasmussen also scored for the Red Wings, and Dylan Larkin had three assists.
Greiss hadn’t played since Jan. 9. He was in COVID-19 protocol for more than a week last month.
“I thought the game was loose at times, but Greiss played really, really well,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “Obviously, he’d like the one back in the third, but he made up for it right away with a huge save. He came back well after being off for so long. He controlled the game and pucks were sticking to him.”
Keith Yandle scored his first goal of the season for Philadelphia. Scott Laughton had a goal and an assist, and Carter Hart stopped 20 shots.
The Flyers lost 6-3 to the Red Wings on Wednesday night at Philadelphia. Back home in Detroit, the Red Wings got off to a fast start.
Bertuzzi scored his 23rd goal off a Robby Fabbri pass 5:36 into the first period.
Zadina made it 2-0 with his sixth goal midway through the second. Larkin carried the puck from his own zone into Flyers territory and dropped it off to Zadina, who wristed a shot from the slot for just his second goal in his last 24 games.
Zadina was moved to the first line with Larkin and rookie Lucas Raymond after the All-Star break with the aim of making him more productive.
“I played with him last year and he always works hard,” Larkin said. “He’d be the first to admit he has struggled this year but he’s worked hard with us and it is paying off.”
The Flyers broke through with 7.5 seconds left in the second on Yandle’s power-play goal, a blast from the point. Philadelphia was 0 for 5 on the power play on Wednesday.
Seider fired in a shot from the point at 9:05 of the third during Detroit’s first power-play opportunity.
“He’s had a massive impact, and he’s getting better as the season progresses,” Blashill said. “There’s a part of me that wants to underplay his impact, but he’s been a huge part of our success.”
Laughton answered less than a minute later with his ninth goal on a rebound.
“We skated a lot better, supported the puck and got out of our zone a lot quicker,” Laughton said of the rematch. “Obviously, it’s not the result we wanted, it’s tough to lose like that but guys were skating and working together. At this point, we’ve got to keep building on that and hopefully, get something going.”
Rasmussen scored an empty-netter to clinch Detroit’s victory.
“We put ourselves in a position where we could have come back and won this game,” Philadelphia interim coach Mike Yeo said. “We responded all night long, we just didn’t find a way to get that tying goal, unfortunately.”
WORTH NOTING
Red Wings defenseman Troy Stecher played for the first time since Nov. 4 after being removed from injured reserve. He missed 37 games after undergoing wrist surgery. ... Detroit D Nick Leddy (upper body) missed his fifth consecutive game. Another D, Filip Hronek, is in COVID-19 protocol. ... Philadelphia F Gerry Mayhew suffered a facial injury that required stitches when he fell and crashed into the boards midway through the third. ... Flyers D Rasmus Ristolainen missed the game with an undisclosed injury. ... The Red Wings are 16-1-2 when leading after two periods.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Visit Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Red Wings: Visit Minnesota Wild on Monday.
