Tomas Tatar hat trick powers Red Wings past Ducks

DETROIT -- Tomas Tatar would love to have the Joe Louis Arena boards transported to Little Caesars Arena.
The building's famously springy boards helped Tatar score the second goal in his first NHL hat trick, and the Detroit Red Wings went on to a 6-4 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
With the Ducks leading 3-1 in the second period, Tatar's shot deflected wide off Cam Fowler's skate, then bounced off the back boards and the side of the net before going in off the back of the leg of Ducks goalie Jonathan Bernier.

WATCH: All Ducks vs. Red Wings highlights
"It's a really tough building for visiting goalies because they aren't used to the bounce off the boards," Bernier said. "I thought that puck was going to end up behind the net and it shot back at me."
Detroit scored the next three goals, with Tatar finishing his hat trick at 4:51 of the third period to give the Red Wings a 5-3 lead.
"That was perfect timing because that bounce changed the whole game," Tatar said. "We know we haven't been good enough in the last four games, but we've needed some bounces, too."

The season-best six goals came after Detroit scored three times while going 0-3-1 in the first four games of a five-game homestand. Thirteen players had at least one point. Petr Mrazek made 21 saves.
"This can do a lot for us, but we've got to come back out and play like this again on Monday," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.
Bernier allowed four goals on 21 shots and was replaced by John Gibson for the third period. Rickard Rakell scored twice for the Ducks, who fell to 7-3-1 in their past 11 games.
"You can't give up six goals and win in this league, or in any league," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We scored enough to win, but you can't give up more than two if you want to consistently win games."
The Ducks took a 1-0 lead on Rakell's power-play goal at 3:41. Shea Theodore made it 2-0 with another power-play goal at 10:17, beating Mrazek with a wrist shot through traffic for his first goal of the season.
Tatar scored his fifth goal at 13:33, putting in a rebound after Bernier stopped Mike Green's shot.
The Ducks took a 3-1 lead at 5:16 of the second on Fowler's eighth goal.

"I got to check a box on my list. I really wanted to score a goal here before they closed this place," said Fowler, who grew up in suburban Detroit.
After Tatar's pinball goal, Dylan Larkin tied the game at 11:22, and Xavier Ouellet gave Detroit a 4-3 lead at 17:52, scoring his first goal since Jan. 20, 2015. It was the first time Detroit had led on the homestand.
Tatar completed his hat trick at 4:51 of the third, taking advantage of Theodore's turnover to flip the puck over Gibson's leg.
Rakell's second goal of the game pulled the Ducks within 5-4 at 6:35, but Frans Nielsen's seventh goal put the Red Wings back up by two at 10:33.
"This is a big relief because this has really been a tough stretch," Nielsen said. "This will get some confidence back in the room."

Goal of the game

Fowler's first goal in his hometown rink was set up by a spectacular between-the-legs drop pass by Ryan Kesler, who also grew up in the area. Kelser's pass took both Detroit defensemen out of the play, allowing Andrew Cogliano to tee up Fowler.

Save of the game

The Ducks nearly took a 4-2 lead midway through the second period but Mrazek lunged across the crease to stop Corey Perry at point-blank range. The Red Wings gained control, skated down the ice and Larkin scored the game-tying goal.

Highlight of the game

Rakell's second goal saw him pick off Danny DeKeyser's clearing attempt at center ice, then deke DeKeyser before beating Mrazek with a wrist shot.

Unsung performance of the game

Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha isn't in the lineup for his defense, but he lunged to knock the puck off Theodore's stick for the turnover that led to Tatar's third goal.

They said it

"Those are the Joe Louis boards playing tricks on you. There's no chance of that happening in any other building." -- Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler on Tomas Tatar's fluke goal

"Our process was really good tonight after it hadn't been for the last two games. That's what pleased me the most." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill

Need to know

Rakell has 14 goals in 21 games. … Fowler and Red Wings defenseman Mike Green limped off the ice in the final minute, but both said they were OK. … Detroit hadn't scored more than three goals in regulation since Nov. 25.

What's next

Ducks: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNO, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-CR, FS-D+, NHL.TV)