Abdelkader, Brad Richards and Darren Helm, into an empty net, fed off that energy with goals of their own late in the third period that gave the Red Wings the victory.
But it was Nyquist's goal, his 15th of the season, which everyone wanted to talk about after the game, especially because it was his first in 12 games, a slump that stretched to Feb. 4.
"It was a big goal and it was a nice goal," Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "He's that kind of a special player. He doesn't need much to create chances, and you saw that there."
The goal took some weight off Nyquist's shoulders, but he seemed nearly as pleased that Tatar also scored. Tatar had gone eight games without a goal before he opened the scoring with a bit of perseverance.
"It's fun to score a goal in a game like this, no question," Nyquist said. "We haven't been putting the puck in the net as much as we should, so it was nice to get one and hopefully this is something that can get us both going."
Tatar said he knows he will score more often if he applies himself like he did on the game-opening goal.
"We won a faceoff and [the puck] went through a few places, and then I got the first bounce and I hit the post on the side and then went around and tried to wrap it," he said. "The puck still didn't go in, so finally the puck found me again for the third time and somehow it went in."
When Tatar scored his 17th of the season 5:07 into the game, he hoped it would be a harbinger of better things for him and his line, which includes Nyquist and Sheahan. He had no idea how well things would turn out.
"I feel for me and Gustav; they were big goals for us," Tatar said. "We just weren't as confident, we were squeezing the stick too much. I was really excited [when I scored]. This game was huge for us."