Deslauriers, Canadiens defeat Red Wings

DETROIT -- Nicolas Deslauriers scored twice, and the Montreal Canadiens won 4-3 against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.
"It's fun to score goals," said Deslauriers, who reached 10 goals for the first time in his NHL career. "This has been a long, tough season, so this was a nice bonus at the end."

Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen scored for Montreal (29-39-13), which ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1). Antti Niemi made 23 saves.
Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Darren Helm scored for Detroit (30-39-12), which is 3-1-1 in its past five games. Jared Coreau made 24 saves.
WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Red Wings highlights]
"We made three big, big mistakes," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I don't think we gave up much other than those three plays."
Deslauriers gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 5:46 of the first period when Noah Juulsen's shot deflected off his skate past Coreau.

"He's given us something we didn't have before, a fourth-line forward who gives us energy, physical play and some offensive production," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "He's got 10 goals in 57 games playing fourth-line minutes, and we're hoping he can grow from there."
Larkin tied it 1-1 at 18:50, splitting two defensemen down the left wing before scoring on a backhand from in front.
"I saw [Karl] Alzner charge at me, and I just made a move and kept my feet going," Larkin said. "Once I beat the first guy, I saw a lane to the net."
Bertuzzi gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 2:13 of the second period, one-timing a cross-crease pass from Henrik Zetterberg. Bertuzzi has three goals in his past two games.
"I'm playing with confidence right now, but it is easy when you are playing with Henrik and he's giving you tap-ins," Bertuzzi said. "I know if I find some open space, he's going to find me."

Bertuzzi appeared to score his second on the power play at 6:47, but the goal was waved off because of goaltender interference.
On the same power play, Juulsen blocked two one-timers by Martin Frk from the left face-off circle with his left leg.
"We all know what kind of shot Frk has," Lehkonen said. "That was a huge penalty kill, especially down one, and he got in front of those two slap shots. That gave the whole team a boost."
Gallagher tied it 2-2 at 11:39, scoring off a give-and-go with Jonathan Drouin on a 2-on-0 following a turnover by Anthony Mantha.
Deslauriers scored to make it 3-2 at 14:39, beating Coreau five-hole on a 2-on-1 following a turnover by Frans Nielsen.
"I got two great bounces tonight," Deslauriers said. "One off my skate, and then the puck bouncing on Nielsen at center ice."

Lehkonen extended the lead to 4-2 at 2:23 of the third period. After Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall lost the puck at center ice, Lehkonen skated in on a 3-on-1 and scored on a one-timer from the right circle.
"We're always trying to force mistakes in the neutral zone," Lehkonen said. "We're always better when we can get into a fast-break game."
Helm scored to cut it to 4-3 at 3:09.

Goal of the game

Lehkonen's goal at 2:23 of the third period.

Save of the game

Niemi's save on Jonathan Ericsson at 15:05 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Larkin's goal at 18:50 of the first period.

They said it

"We didn't see anything special about Detroit, we always try to focus on moving the puck quickly when we get into transition. When you use speed in those situations, you don't give the other team a chance to recover from their mistakes, and we did a good job of that tonight." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien
"I thought we had the game under control in the second period, and then there were two plays, the two odd-man rushes, and both pucks are in our net. After that, I don't think they had many chances, but I wouldn't say we did, either. They played well with the lead." -- Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg

Need to know

Montreal went 4-0-0 against Detroit this season, outscoring the Red Wings 24-9. … Coreau is 0-5-0 with a 4.35 goals-against average and .859 save percentage. … Larkin has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak. … Kronwall has five points (one goal, four assists) in a five-game point streak. ... Gallagher has nine points (five goals, four assists) in the past eight games.

What's next

Canadiens:At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-D, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)