David Perron’s 300th goal sends Detroit Red Wings past Minnesota, 4-1, for 3rd straight

David Perron’s 300th career NHL goal ensured the Detroit Red Wings would celebrate a third straight victory.

Perron scored twice on one-timers Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, creating a lead and then building on it against the Minnesota Wild.

“We knew one of their identities is they are a heavy team and that creates an issue,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “There were some moments where it felt like more of a grind than what we saw in the last two games, so it felt like we found another way to win a game in a different way, against a really good team.”

The Wings (11-6-3) had momentum on their side coming into the matinee, having just come off a big victory on Black Friday against the then-NHL leading Bruins in Boston. The Wings have build their nascent winning streak on good starts, solid goaltending — Sunday, it was Alex Lyon making 37 saves — and a re-ignited power play. Both of Perron’s goals came during man advantages; his second, 89 seconds into the third period, was the milestone score.

“It felt great,” Perron said. “Good plays by the guys on the ice to get me open for a couple looks. It’s one that I’m glad is over and we can move forward and keep adding, hopefully.”

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Captain Dylan Larkin contributed a goal and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere topped his two-assist output at Boston by assisting on all three goals Sunday and then scoring an empty-net goal for his second career four-point game.

Smooth moves

Lucas Raymond pulled off a sleek move early in the first period when he took a pass from Gostisbehere, darted around Wild forward Brandon Duhaime and wired the puck to Perron, whose one-timer sank behind Filip Gustavsson. Raymond’s four-game goal streak (dating back to Nov. 11) ended Friday, but he had an assist in that game and this one to forge a six-game point streak.

Wild advantage

The Wings were 11.3 seconds from coming out of the first period with a 1-0 lead when Wild top-line center Kirill Kaprtizov fired a shot through traffic that deflected in off Joel Eriksson Ek to elude Lyon. The Wings had the better period, with solid offensive-zone play, and had three power plays, the latter two stemming from Wild forward Matthew Boldy’s holding penalties on Klim Kostin. With 25 seconds left in the period, Kostin took a penalty of his own, tripping Jonas Brodin, and the Wild rode that momentum into a tie game. Lyon was excellent when the Wild went on a fourth power play near the midpoint of the third period, denying three attempts. He made another two on their fifth power play.

Drop and score

Larkin scored for the third time in three games to break a monotonous second period. Taking a pass from Gostisbehere in the neutral zone, Larkin strode up the boards, cut towards Minnesota’s net and fired a shot that Gustavsson stopped. Larkin was falling to his knees as he connected on the rebound to earn his eighth goal of the season. Larkin’s streak comes after he went five games without a point.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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