RECAP: Copp's late third-period goal helps Red Wings, who want to keep 'scratching and clawing,' edge Flyers for 2-1 victory

DETROIT — Pushing their point streak to three straight games and keeping the Philadelphia Flyers winless for at least one more night, the Detroit Red Wings earned a 2-1 victory at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

“Even in the three losses, other than the Seattle one, we didn’t give up a whole lot and played a pretty decent game,” said Andrew Copp, who scored the go-ahead goal with 4:38 left in regulation. “There’s just that extra 2 percent, whether it’s, in my case, finishing or getting pucks out or that extra battle won, that can kind of be the difference at the end of the day. The margin of error is so small in this league anyway, and we’re not scoring six a night, so it might even be a hair smaller for us. It’s important to keep that confidence from how we feel like we’ve been playing.”

Goalie Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves for the Red Wings (2-3-2; 6 points), while netminder Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots for the Flyers (0-6-3; 3 points).

“We probably don’t have the point totals in the bank that we’d like to have, but we’ve been scratching and clawing and taking what we have and we’re trying to make it better,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “Guys have been buying in for the most part. We talked about frustration the other day, and I don’t think it’s crept in. So, we have some things going for us. We just got to keep chipping away at our team.”

Moments before Matvei Michkov batted a puck out of midair at the far post to put Philadelphia up 1-0 at 17:32 of the first period, Viktor Arvidsson blocked a shot from Travis Sanheim shot and had to be helped off the ice then went down the tunnel into Detroit’s dressing room.

“Today’s start was a muddy start, or a murky start if you want to call it that by both teams,” McLellan said. “There wasn’t a lot going on, then we started to play our way into it a little bit more, more polished as it goes on. There hasn’t been a lot of games, in my opinion, where we’ve started slow.”

The Red Wings began the second period not only with the 33-year-old forward back on the ice but also having some carry-over power-play time in their pocket, though the Flyers were able to kill it off. But at 4:31, Anton Johansson exited the penalty box and took a pass from Dylan Larkin – he had collected Justin Faulk’s feed at the blue line before racing up the right wall - and buried a hard one-timer inside the left face-off circle for his first career NHL goal that tied it 1-1.

Asked how he saw the play develop, Johansson laughed.

“Todd was waving at me, coming to the bench,” Johansson said. “I was going to the bench after (Faulk) put it up to (Larkin), but I changed my mind and followed up in the 2-on-1. (Larkin) made a great play, and it went in the back of the net.”

Johansson has recorded points (one goal, one assist) in back-to-back contests.

“He’s a very gifted player,” Copp said of the 22-year-old rookie blueliner. “It seems like his game is pretty mature, which I think is really important especially for those defensemen. Night after night, you see dangerous forwards coming at you. To have the maturity that he does, on and off the ice, is impressive. He’s had a great start and looking forward to seeing him grow.”

Detroit again had some brief carry-over power-play time at the start of the third period, but it unfortunately didn’t result in a change on the scoreboard in its favor.

Fortunately, that happened at 15:22, when Copp banged the puck home from the doorstep after Michael Rasmussen’s pass through the crease, which came off a puck battle Nate Danielson won behind the net.

“Too many chances that didn’t go in," Copp said of finally scoring his first goal of the campaign. "So hopefully the first one, hopefully they come like grapes.”

The Flyers tried hard for the equalizer, but Nick Seeler tripped Lucas Raymond at the Red Wings’ blue line with 1:29 left. As a result, Philadelphia played short-handed until the game ended. 

"The guys did a tremendous job tonight," Tarasov said. "They probably got more blocked shots than I got saves tonight, you know? When they're playing that type of hockey, it's so easy for me."

NEXT UP: Detroit will finish off its three-game homestand when the San Jose Sharks visit Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on Tarasov

“He’s done a real good job when he’s gone in there. Tonight was probably a tough game for him to play because it came and went in spurts, but he’s done a real good job. Seven and a bit periods, he’s been pretty solid. We’re really happy for him and obviously, it’s helped us get some points.”

Copp on Thursday’s game

“The first period was, maybe, we were doing what we needed to do but there wasn’t kind of that extra intensity or grit to it. I think as the game went along, we kind of found that and I think we kind of took over in the second and third.”

Johansson on trusting his instincts just before he scored

“If it’s a 2-on-1, there’s not a lot of those chances in a game so you have to take care of those, and we did.”

Tarasov on being ready to play whenever it’s his time

“I’ve experienced that in the past years and I know how to manage it. It wasn’t hard to get into, it’s just working hard every practice, waiting for a chance and helping the guys.”