The Detroit Red Wings scored and punched their way to an entertaining home victory.
Anthony Mantha completed a Gordie Howe hat trick when he fought Travis Hamonic with six minutes to play Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena, after scoring two goals and assisting on another in an 8-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.
The brawls erupted as the Wings' Luke Witkowski beat up the Flames' Brett Kulak. Witkowski got ejected, and was sucker punched by a Flames player as he tried to walk down the hall way. Jimmy Howard skated out of his crease and threw punches as players gathered by the Wings bench. An official had to pull Mantha off Hamonic after both fell through the gate to the Wings bench. Mantha and Witkowski and Flames players Jon Gillies, Matthew Tkachuk, and Mikael Backlund all ended up with game misconducts.
Dylan Larkin scored shorthanded and also had an assist; Andreas Athanasiou scored first and last, and assisted on one of Mantha’s goals. Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader and Luke Glendening also helped out in the goal department, and Mike Green’s three assists gave him 16 on the season.
Doubles
Athanasiou — recently nicknamed “Doubles” by coach Jeff Blashill — scored for a second straight game when he stole the puck at his own blue line and took off. Athanasiou fired a puck that ended up sliding in off the stick of Calgary defenseman T.J. Brodie.
Flames turn up heat
Nyquist had just made it 2-0 when he was called for high-sticking at 8:13. The Flames converts at 8:37 when Micheal Ferland slipped the puck behind Howard from the left side of the net.
Wings blow hotter
Mantha restored a two-goal cushion during a power play. Athanasiou had the puck on the left flank and centered it just as Mantha drove towards the net, enabling Mantha to take a shot and then swat in his own rebound. It got to 4-1 at 17:17 while the Wings were on a penalty kill. Larkin got a hold of the puck and raced into Calgary’s zone, pulled up in the left circle and then waited for Brodie to slide by before beating Eddie Lack. That gave the Wings four goals on 12 shots in the first period.
Mo Mantha
When the Wings got a power play early the second period, it took just six seconds to make it 5-1. Frans Nielsen fired the puck towards the net and Mantha tipped the puck for his second goal of the game. After giving up five goals on 15 shots, Lack was replaced by Jon Gillies.
Abdelkader gets on board, too
Johnny Gaudreau scoured at 12:34 of the second period but the Wings had their four-goal lead back before it ended, as Abdelkader scored with 43.6 seconds to go when he knocked in the puck after it bounced off the end boards.
