Vejmelka makes 38 saves, Utah scores 3 straight to rally past Detroit

DETROIT – Karel Vejmelka made 38 saves for the Utah Hockey Club, who scored three straight goals to rally for a 4-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

Vejmelka, who signed a five-year contract extension earlier Thursday, allowed two goals in the first 8:49 before stopping the next 29 shots to backstop the comeback.

“We had kind of a slow start tonight, but after the first period, we played a good second and an even better third,” Vejmelka said. “The guys had a lot of great blocks, so this was a big team win.”

Michael Kesselring had two assists for Utah (28-25-9), which has won four of five. Ten players had at least one point in Utah’s first game since a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils Saturday.

“That’s what a team is about,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “What I liked tonight is that every line had a goal. That’s how this team plays.”

Dylan Larkin and Jonatan Berggren scored for Detroit (30-26-6), which has lost four straight. Alex Lyon made 15 saves.

“We just can’t find a way,” Larkin said. “We’ve lost not playing well and we’ve lost playing well. We’re losing in different ways, so we just have to keep looking at the big picture.”

The Red Wings didn’t score in the last 51:11.

“We talk a lot about the race to three (goals), and if you don’t win that, you put yourself in a real tough spot,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “We didn’t get to three again tonight.”

Nick Schmaltz tied it 2-2 at 13:01 of the second period, scoring a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle off a cross-slot pass from Barrett Hayton on the power play.

Kevin Stenlund put Utah in front 3-2 at 2:55 of the third period, picking up a loose puck at the right face-off dot and beating Lyon with a snap shot.

“It’s a 2-2 game there and we had a lapse in our end and they get one,” Larkin said. “We just can’t do that at that point in the game.”

Lawson Crouse took a spinning backhanded pass from Jack McBain and outwaited Lyon in front before putting a wrist shot over the glove for the 4-2 final at 7:51.

“We got all the goals in tight – that’s from going to the net and creating an opportunity,” Tourigny said. “We were a little rusty and it took us some time to get up to Detroit’s level of intensity.”

Utah took a 1-0 lead at 2:08 of the first period when Dylan Guenther scored with a one-timer from a tight angle below the left circle off a cross-slot pass from Alex Kerfoot.

Larkin tied it 1-1 at 3:17, one-timing a loose puck in the slot past Vejmelka as he dove to the ice for his 25th goal of the season.

Berggren put Detroit ahead 2-1 at 8:49, finishing a rebound at the left post after Vejmelka knocked down Tyler Motte’s shot from the slot during a delayed penalty.

“This is definitely an opportunity missed,” Red Wings forward Patrick Kane said. “You look at the schedule, and we don’t have many home games left.”

Red Wings forward Carter Mazur, making his NHL debut, sustained an upper-body injury on his second shift and did not return.

NOTES: This was the first meeting between the two franchises. Utah has now played 30 of the other 31 teams in the League and will finish the set when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 22. … Larkin became the first Red Wings player with four straight 25-goal seasons since Pavel Datsuyk did it six straight times from 2003-10. … McLellan said Mazur will not make the trip to Washington for Friday’s game against the Capitals.