Larkin gets 3 points, Red Wings defeat Blues

ST. LOUIS – Dylan Larkin had two goals and an assist for the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

“A really good start to the trip,” Larkin said of Detroit’s five-game road trip that started Tuesday. “I think a good road game out of our team. That’s something that we’ve been looking to do. The third point is a total team win. All the lines were good, all the 'D' pairs played really solid and [John Gibson] was great. We had a great third period, a lot of positives and a really good way to start the trip.”

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist, and Ben Chiarot and Elmer Soderblom scored for the Red Wings (7-3-0), who swept the season series from the Blues after winning 6-4 in Detroit on Saturday. Gibson made 20 saves.

“I thought we played a pretty solid game,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “We played well offensively when we needed to. I thought we checked much better through the neutral zone coming into our zone and we were connected on our breakouts. All of the sudden you’ve got the puck a little bit more. When that happens, they’ve got less scoring opportunities and it tends to go your way.”

Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou each scored for St. Louis (3-6-1), which lost 6-3 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday and is 0-4-1 in its past five games. Jordan Binnington made 15 saves.

“It’s been a tough stretch,” St. Louis defenseman Cam Fowler said. “I’m not sure you can point to one thing in particular, but it’s a long season and it’s up to us to dig ourselves out of it and try and support each other and just find a way to keep pushing forward.

“I think we’re disappointed, we’re frustrated with some of the results we’ve been getting. Listen, it’s a hard League, it’s competitive every single night and if you’re not on your A-game and doing things the right way, then things can get away from you. We expect a lot better, so that part is surprising to us, but we’ve got to just dig in and find a way to claw out of it. That’s the only option that we have.”

Schenn gave the Blues a 1-0 lead just 47 seconds into the first period when Philip Broberg’s shot caromed off defensive partner Colton Parayko in front, and Schenn banged in the rebound.

However, they were not able to sustain the positive start.

“We did have a good start,” Schenn said. “Guys care, guys were trying, guys want to win. Obviously we know guys are battling their own confidence issues right now. That’s just not from points. That’s from when you win, and guys want to win. You come to the rink expecting to win every night and you’re not getting the results, it’s tough on everyone. No one wants to deal with that. What I do know is this game humbles you, and we’re getting humbled right now. We have to battle adversity and I know this isn’t permanent and we have to dig in and find ways to get out of it. The best part of this game is you get to come to the rink tomorrow and find a way to get better as a team, or individually.”

Chiarot’s first of the season tied it 1-1 at 12:01 on a wrist shot from the left point that deflected off the left skate of Blues defenseman Justin Faulk.

DeBrincat gave Detroit a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 19:24 when he tipped Moritz Seider’s long-range wrist shot past Binnington.

“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t,” DeBrincat said of scoring in consecutive games. “Just got to keep going, keep shooting. I’m lucky enough to get the one today.”

Larkin made it 3-1 at 11:14 of the second period, chipping in a sharp seam pass in the slot that Simon Edvinsson sent from the left point.

Soderblom increased the lead to 4-1 at 12:56. Michael Rasmussen threw a pass from behind the net to Soderblom in front, who buried it with a quick snap shot.

Kyrou cut the deficit to 4-2 at 15:36 with a wrist shot from the slot, extending his point streak to eight games (four goals, four assists).

Larkin scored his second goal on the empty net at 18:53 for the 5-2 final.

“It’s good to get the two points there,” DeBrincat said. “A little bit of a rough start, first shift, a goal against, but I thought we battled back well. … It’s a good one.”

NOTES: Larkin has at least a point in nine of Detroit’s 10 games this season (eight goals, eight assists). ... Parayko had an assist on Schenn’s goal to become the fourth defenseman in Blues history with 300 career points, joining Al MacInnis (452), Alex Pietrangelo (450) and Chris Pronger (356).