Recap: Larkin's hat trick, Bertuzzi lead Red Wings past Devils, 5-2

DETROIT -- Take a bow, Dylan Larkin.
The Red Wings captain recorded his first career hat trick and finished with four points to guide Detroit to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. Larkin scored once in the first period and twice in the second, highlighting a strong all-around effort from the Red Wings. Tyler Bertuzzi also added two goals for his first multi-goal game since Nov. 6.
Three days after the Red Wings recalled Kyle Criscuolo from the Grand Rapids Griffins, the forward recorded his first career NHL point with an assist on Larkin's third goal. Lucas Raymond also notched his 18th assist of the season late in the third period.

Detroit goalie Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to collect his sixth win of the season.
Despite placing four players and two coaches in the NHL's COVID-19 protocols before Saturday's game, Detroit earned the win to improve to 15-13-3 this season, while New Jersey dropped to 10-14-5 with the loss. This season, the Red Wings are 11-1-2 when they score at least one goal at Little Caesars Arena.
NEXT UP: After an unexpected few days without a game, Detroit will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 23 to face the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit Plus and the Red Wings Radio Network.
The Red Wings were scheduled to play the Colorado Avalanche at Little Caesars Arena on Monday, but that game was postponed due to rising COVID-19 cases in the Avalanche organization.

SCORING SUMMARY

Detroit 1, New Jersey 0 (15:39, 1st period)
The Red Wings struck first in the opening period on Saturday. After Filip Hronek dumped the puck deep into the Devils' corner, New Jersey goaltender Akira Schmid came out to retrieve the puck. It took a big bounce off the board to Larkin, who retrieved the puck and scored on an empty net to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

Detroit 1, New Jersey 1 (19:11, 1st period)
New Jersey tied the game with 49 seconds left in the first period on a wrist shot from Michael McLeod.
Detroit 2, New Jersey 1 (11:48, 2nd period)
Detroit regained the lead midway through the second on another goal from Larkin. After Vladislav Namestnikov fed a pass to Larkin in the slot, the Red Wings captain put a shot just past Schmid to give Detroit a 2-0 advantage. Pius Suter was also credited with an assist.

Detroit 3, New Jersey 1 (12:27, 2nd period)
Bertuzzi found the back of the net less than a minute later as Moritz Seider pulled two Devils defenders to him and found Bertuzzi for a quick look that he blasted top shelf for Detroit's third tally of the evening.

Detroit 4, New Jersey 1 (15:47, 2nd period)
A chorus of applause erupted from the Little Caesars Arena crowd after Larkin collected a pass from Criscuolo on a breakaway and buried his third goal of the evening to complete the hat trick. It was his third straight game with at least one goal, and his first multi-goal game since Nov. 13.

Detroit 4, New Jersey 2 (17:25, 2nd period)
On a partial breakaway, Devils winger Dawson Mercer tracked down the puck and scored a shorthanded goal to cut New Jersey's deficit in half to make it a 4-2 game.
Detroit 5, New Jersey 2 (14:07, 3rd period)
Detroit received late-game insurance when Bertuzzi netted his second goal of the night and 12th of the season to extend the Red Wings' lead to 5-2. He was assisted by Raymond, who leads all NHL rookies with 28 points, and Larkin, who recorded his 14th assist of the season.

Red Wings assistant coach Doug Houda on which interim coach gets credit for the win

"We'll give that to Benny (Simon). Coming up, those guys did a great job. Tough circumstances for them and the players that are hopping in. Whole day was an interesting day when all the COVID is going on. But we found a way and we battled through it. When you get a win, at the end of the day, you move on."

Larkin on his hat trick

"It did feel good. I've obviously never had one. I think about my nana. She would always give me $5 for every goal, like most proud nanas do. They're always like, 'Will you score a hat trick? Just do it!' And I'm always like, 'Nana, it's kind of hard, you know?' So this one's definitely for my nana and my grandma."

Larkin on Red Wings players stepping up under tough circumstances

"You just have to find a way to show up and play. I give credit to the guys that came from Grand Rapids, and Jordan Oesterle playing forward tonight. We needed him in a crunch and he did great."

Larkin on how Detroit stays focused with COVID-19 spikes across NHL

"It's difficult right now. You see guys go down. The world right now with the spike, it's hard. You have to be a great professional right now and come ready to play, and really be dialed in to nutrition and doing everything possible to stay safe."