Captain Dylan Larkin broke a 2-2 deadlock 4:41 into the third period and rookie Marco Kasper sealed a 4-2 victory with his first goal in 37 games, vaulting Detroit to its fifth win in six contests and keeping the Motor City in the thick of the wild-card race.
Dylan Larkin did what captains are paid to do—he changed the game in a blink. His third-period doorstep jam powered the surging Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, tightening the playoff picture and snapping San Jose’s seven-wins-in-nine rampage.
The Turning Point
Score locked at 2-2, Larkin hunted a loose puck at 4:41 of the final frame, out-muscling two Sharks defenders to wedge it between the left post and goalie Yaroslav Askarov’s pad. The Little Caesars Arena crowd erupted, the bench erupted, and the Red Wings had their first lead of the night—one they never relinquished.
Kasper Ends 36-Game Drought
Rookie center Marco Kasper, mired in a 36-game goalless spiral, buried an empty-netter with 1:32 left to ice the game and exhale a month’s worth of frustration. The Austrian’s first tally since late October doubled as his first multi-point NHL game—he also set up J.T. Compher’s second-period equalizer with a slick through-the-legs feed.
Special Teams Swing Momentum
Detroit’s power play, dormant for three straight games, struck first when Lucas Raymond’s cross-seam pass found Alex DeBrincat for a one-time rocket—his team-best 25th of the season. The Sharks answered with two deflection goals, but the Wings’ penalty kill held firm in the third, allowing only two shots during a crucial Moritz Seider minor.
Sharks’ Slide Starts with Askarov
Rookie netminder Yaroslav Askarov stopped 21 shots but had zero chance on Larkin’s jam play. San Jose’s high-flying top line of Macklin Celebrini (assist, now 32 points in 18 games) and Will Smith (goal in his return from a 13-game upper-body absence) generated flashes, yet the Sharks were out-shot 12-4 in the third.
What the Win Means
- Standings squeeze: Detroit moves within two points of the second wild-card spot in the East with three games in hand.
- Chemistry boost: Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat have combined for 17 points in the last six games.
- Sharks reality check: San Jose drops to 1-3-1 in its last five road tilts, exposing depth issues behind its star rookies.
Numbers That Matter
- 5-for-6: Detroit’s record in its last six, the best six-game stretch since March 2024.
- 0-for-8: The Sharks’ power-play efficiency on the road trip, a slide that began in Nashville.
- 20: Saves by John Gibson, improving his January record to 4-1-0 and calming the crease while Cam Talbot nurses a minor groin tweak.
Next Up
The Red Wings head to Buffalo on Sunday for the front end of a back-to-back before hosting Boston on Monday. The Sharks continue their five-game swing in Carolina on Sunday, where Nikolaj Ehlers and the Hurricanes are fresh off a 9-1 demolition of Florida.
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