DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings earned their first victory of the season Saturday and much of the credit can go to Thomas Greiss.
The veteran goaltender stopped 40 shots, many of them acrobatic stops, as the Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1.
An apparent tying goal at 17:29 for Vancouver was taken away when Nils Hoglander interfered with Greiss, Hoglander hitting Greiss high while cruising through the slot.
Filip Zadina (power play) Robby Fabbri and Sam Gagner (empty net) scored for the Wings.
Zadina left the game in the third period after getting hit hard in the corner by Conor Garland. Zadina headed to the locker room, but returned late in the period.
Greiss made several dazzling saves, including sliding over to stop Hoglander on a 2-on-1 Vancouver rush, stopping Bo Horvat on a one-timer in the slot, and turning aside Horvat again near the post with just under two minutes remaining in the game after Vancouver had pulled its goalie.
Gagner scored into an empty net to clinch the outcome shortly after the Horvat save.
Garland scored Vancouver's goal.
Zadina broke a 1-1 tie with his first goal at 6:42. Moritz Seider (third assist) found Zadina on the flank and Zadina's one timer appeared to deflect off Vancouver's Oliver Ekman-Larsson's stick and past goaltender Jaroslav Halak.
Vancouver tied the score 1-1 earlier in the second period on Garland's first goal.
Garland had the puck on the goal line and flipped a shot that bounced of Greiss' mask and into the net.
Fabbri opened the scoring with his first goal, at 11:05 of the first period.
Marc Staal saw Fabbri in the slot, and Fabbri redirected the puck over Halak's shoulder, opening the scoring.
The Wings killed all three Vancouver power plays after an ineffective night of penalty killing Thursday against Tampa.
———
