Wings build 4-goal cushion, hang on to edge Flames

Alex DeBrincat scored twice in a three-point game as the visiting Detroit Red Wings staked a four-goal lead and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Dylan Larkin also scored for the Red Wings, who have won three consecutive games.

Patrick Kane and Andrew Copp both posted a pair of assists for Detroit, which jumped back to first place in the Atlantic Division.

Goaltender John Gibson made 34 saves for the Red Wings, who are on a 4-0-2 run and have won the last seven meetings against Calgary.

Joel Farabee, Matt Coronato and MacKenzie Weegar scored for the Flames, who saw their three-game winning streak end in the finale of a four-game homestand.

Nazem Kadri netted two assists and goalie Devin Cooley stopped 22 shots.

The Red Wings claimed a 2-0 lead before the hosts even fired a shot on goal, starting with DeBrincat's tally 62 seconds into the affair. During what appeared to be a harmless rush into the Calgary zone, Kane slipped a cross-ice pass to DeBrincat in the left circle and he converted a one-timer.

DeBrincat is on a five-game point streak in which he has collected four goals and four assists.

Sandin-Pellikka doubled the lead with a similar goal. This time DeBrincat sent a cross-ice pass for his teammate to bury with a quick release. Sandin-Pellikka improved his career-best point streak to four games (one goal, four assists).

DeBrincat extended the lead at 7:41 of the second period thanks to a Calgary turnover. Copp took advantage of the giveaway and fed a pass to the slot, where DeBrincat sent a wrist shot off the post and in.

Then Larkin made it a four-goal game when he elected to shoot from the slot while on a 2-on-1 rush 88 seconds later.

The Flames finally found the momentum in the final frame with a comeback attempt that fell just short.

Farabee put the hosts on the board at 8:02 of the third period by converting on a penalty shot awarded when he was slashed while on a short-handed breakaway.

Coronato made it a 4-2 game 65 seconds later when he finished an odd-man rush with a shot set up by Kadri.

Weegar pulled Calgary within one at 14:40 of the frame by unloading a one-timer from the point that rang off the iron and into the net, but despite a frantic push, the Flames could not find the equalizer.

--Field Level Media