Jimmy Howard makes 36 saves to lift Red Wings

DETROIT-- Jimmy Howard made 36 saves, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday.
"Jimmy looked solid again," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "He's not spitting out rebounds and the puck is sticking to him well. He's doing a really good job."
Howard is 4-2-0 with a .964 save percentage and has taken the No. 1 spot from Petr Mrazek.

WATCH: All Canucks vs. Red Wings highlights
"When I get in there, I just want to give the guys a chance to win," Howard said. "I'm using a little less aggressive approach where I get my feet set and stay calm. It seems to be working well."
The Red Wings (8-6-1) have won two straight after a five-game losing streak. Dylan Larkin and Brendan Smith scored first-period goals, and Steve Ott scored in the third.
Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver (5-9-1), which has lost 10 of 11. Ryan Miller made 24 saves for the Canucks, who have scored 15 goals in those 11 games.
"We're playing well and we're doing what we are supposed to do," Sedin said. "We just can't get anything to go in the net. At some point, we have to start scoring goals and winning games. We can't be satisfied with creating chances."

Vancouver outshot Detroit 14-8 in the first period but fell behind 2-0. Larkin gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 32 seconds, knocking a rebound past Miller for his fifth goal of the season. Smith made it 2-0 at 18:13 when his slap shot from the point trickled under Miller's right arm and across the line.
"I was leaning to try to see around the traffic in front and the shot came in on the other side," Miller said. "I didn't see the release, so I never got a read on it."
The Canucks made it 2-1 at 3:14 of the third period. A quick passing move by Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin left Daniel with a wide-open net for his fifth goal.
Ott scored at 15:14, tipping in Jonathan Ericsson's shot for his first goal of the season.
"It felt great to be able to chip in," Ott said. "It's one of those goals that really pushes the game along toward a win."

Goal of the game

Most of the fans were settling into their seats when Larkin gave Detroit the lead. Gustav Nyquist shot wide but corralled the loose puck behind the net and put it in front. Miller stopped Henrik Zetterberg's shot, but Larkin beat Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher to the rebound and scored.

Save of the game

Miller got a standing ovation from the Detroit fans for his save with 1:59 left in the game. Miller was trying to get off the ice for an extra skater but dove back into the net and caught Zetterberg's slap shot while sliding on his stomach.
"I'm sick of seeing pucks go into the empty net, so I went back," Miller said. "[Zetterberg] brought the puck across the red line before shooting and that gave me an extra step or two."

Highlight of the game

Larkin limped off the ice in the first period after an awkward fall into the boards but returned after missing one shift. Moments later, he broke down the left wing, but Miller's poke check prevented him from taking a shot. Larkin regained the puck behind the net, circled the defense and forced Miller into a tough save from the left faceoff circle.

Unsung moment of the game

Markus Granlund had one of Vancouver's best scoring chances in the final seconds of the second period, taking the puck between the hash marks on a power play. Frans Nielsen lunged with his stick and disrupted Granlund before the shot.

They said it

"We played pretty well tonight, but it is the same story. We create chances and the puck won't go in." -- Canucks coach Willie Desjardins

"That was awesome; even I was giving him stick taps for that. That was great to see." -- Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard on Ryan Miller's diving glove save of Henrik Zetterberg's slap shot

Need to know

Detroit lost forward Andreas Athanasiou to a lower-body injury in the first period. He was favoring his left leg after a hit from Nikita Tryamkin. "We don't have an update, but we'll know more tomorrow," Blashill said. … The Canucks made their final regular-season visit to Joe Louis Arena. Henrik Sedin is fourth among active players with 25 points as a visiting player, and Daniel Sedin is tied for fifth with 23. … Detroit forward Tyler Bertuzzi played his second NHL game; he was minus-1 in 7:44 of ice time.

What's next

Canucks: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Red Wings: At the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, FS-D, NHL.TV)