RECAP: Red Wings capture ‘really good road win’ against Senators, 5-2

OTTAWA – The Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators added another entertaining chapter to their budding rivalry on Saturday afternoon, which saw Detroit extend its winning streak to four straight games with a 5-2 victory against Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre.

Joe Veleno scored two goals for the Red Wings, who are 4-1-0 (8 points) overall to start a season for the first time since 2017-18. Detroit goalie Ville Husso stopped a season-high 35 shots against the Senators (3-2-0; 6 points) for his third consecutive win.

“(Ottawa) is a very good and well-coached team,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “It’s a scary to-be-good team here. I think we have a little bit more work to do, but if they’re going to be a top team in this division and we’re a rival with them, that would be a good spot to be in.”

Ottawa scored a power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead at 16:54 of the first period. Detroit responded just 1:21 later with a man-advantage tally of its own when Shayne Gostisbehere buried captain Dylan Larkin’s pass in front of the net, tying the game at 1-1. David Perron received the secondary assist.

“I wouldn’t say jumped us, but they were all over us early,” Lalonde said. “I thought we had a good performance from Ville in the first. We weathered that.”

Joe Veleno put Detroit ahead, 2-1, at 4:18 of the second, taking a behind-the-back pass from Christian Fischer and beating Ottawa goaltender Joonas Korpisalo for his first goal of the afternoon.

Perron pushed the lead to 3-1 at 14:54 of the second, finishing a feed from Larkin up front on the power play. Moritz Seider also assisted on Perron’s second goal of the campaign.

Larkin, who was assisted by Gostisbehere and Seider, added Detroit’s third power-play goal with a shot from the slot just 28 seconds into the third to make it 4-1.

The Red Wings finished 3 for 5 on the power play against the Senators. Through five games, Detroit currently owns the NHL’s best man-advantage conversion rate at 50 percent (9 for 18).

“We have five guys who can make plays on it,” Lalonde said about Detroit’s power play. “Most of the goals tonight all came off retrievals, then a quick attack after that. If we’re able to retrieve pucks and win some 50-50s along (the boards), then we turn in some offense and make plays. Big part of the win.”

Veleno netted his second of the game at 7:23, one-timing a feed from Daniel Sprong to put the Red Wings ahead, 5-1.

“(Fischer and Sprong) made two awesome plays for me,” said Veleno, who recorded his first career NHL multi-goal game. “I was able to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Ottawa scored with 11:11 remaining for the 5-2 final.

“All in all, a really good road win against a top team,” Lalonde said. “You watch this team, I think they’re going to be towards the top of the standings all year. This was a really good win for us.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will have a quick turnaround, hosting the Calgary Flames at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday to conclude the weekend back-to-back.

Prior to Sunday’s matinee, ticketed and non-ticketed fans will have an opportunity to interact with Red Wings players as well as enjoy live music, yard games and giveaways as part of the Chevrolet Plaza Player Walk.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on Husso’s start

“He was excellent. Especially early on, I think we only had them for four or five chances but they were on us. Even the one goal we gave up was a deflection we didn’t really have a chance on. He made some big saves when momentum could have easily been turned.”

Lalonde on what he is seeing from Veleno early on this season

“Just playing with some confidence and managing his game very well. When he’s doing stuff, he’s playing a 200-foot game and getting those opportunities. He did that and obviously cashed in on a couple goals.”

Veleno on what he liked from Detroit’s fourth consecutive victory

“Our intensity and handling our emotions pretty well. I know last year we came in here, and obviously knew what was on the line, but I thought we did a good job of handling our emotions. It’s a chippy, high-intensity game and we tried to handle our emotions as best we could. I thought we did a good job.”

Husso on his club’s mindset heading into Ottawa

“We had a good mentality coming in. Just whatever happens in the game, stay calm. I think we did a pretty good job in the overall 60 minutes.”