DETROIT — These were two teams coming off forgettable losses, but it was the Red Wings who did something about it.
Two goals each from Tyler Bertuzzi and Pius Suter — and each had a shorthanded goal 37 seconds apart — spurred the Wings to defeat the struggling San Jose Sharks 6-2 at Little Caesars Arena.
Dylan Larkin and Robby Fabbri added goals, and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic only needed to stop 24 shots, as the Wings dominated from start to finish.
Coming off a disappointing loss Sunday against Boston - not to mention a last-minute loss Friday to Washington - the Wings wanted something positive with an upcoming three-game road trip through California beginning Thursday.
The Sharks were a perfect tonic.
San Jose lost 8-5 in Pittsburgh Sunday, allowing six goals in the first period, and found out earlier in the day star forward Logan Couture was placed on the protocol list.
The Wings took the lead on Bertuzzi's fluky first-period goal, and never looked back.
“If they have a sour taste in their mouths, so do we," said coach Jeff Blashill after the morning skate. "You have a chance to see two ornery teams.....We’re coming off two losses. We haven’t been good enough over the last 10 (games), probably (2-6-0 in their last eight games). We have to find ways to get a win here, that's four focus."
Bertuzzi opened the scoring, backhanding an innocent looking shot from the goal line that Sharks goaltender James Reimer knocked the puck past himself at 13:02 of the first period.
The last thing the Sharks needed to see was a goal against like that one to open this game - and they appeared to lose a fair amount of confidence.
Givani Smith, who fought San Jose defenseman Jacob Middleton early in the first period, earned a five-minute boarding penalty and game misconduct for a hit on Middleton in the corner late in the first period.
San Jose, with a five-minute power play, had an excellent opportunity to take control of the game.
Instead, it was the Wings with the two shorthanded goals.
The Wings hadn't scored a shorthanded goal in 101 games, going back to Feb. 15, 2020 when Darren Helm scored on the penalty kill.
But Suter ended that streak when he swiped the puck from Sharks defenseman Brent Burns at the blue line, went on a breakway, and beat Reimer at 2:04.
The Wings weren't finished.
Another San Jose misplay along the boards led to a Wings 2-on-1 break with Carter Rowney and Bertuzzi. Rowney fed Bertuzzi near the hashmarks, Reimer over-committed, and Bertuzzi fired in his 15th goal at 2:41, just 37 seconds after Suter scored.
The shorthanded goals by Suter and Bertuzzi were the first time the Wings scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill since Dec. 17, 1999 against Colorado. Brendan Shanahan and Doug Brown scored those goals that night, 11 seconds apart on goaltender Patrick Roy.
After Jasper Weatherby got San Jose on the scoreboard, making it 3-1, the Wings answered with Suter's second goal and eighth of the season.
New linemate Michael Rasmussen backhanded a pass to Suter, who was driving to the net, and Suter made no mistake snapping a shot past Reimer at 9:32 of the second period.
Larkin (16th goal) and Fabbri (ninth) scored 1:10 apart early in the third period, after the Sharks' Alexander Barabanov cut the Wings lead to 4-2, putting the game away.
For a Wings team that had struggled to score at home - scoring two goals or less in four of their last five home games - the Wings enjoyed a rare offensive outburst.
“Getting our offense back on track is largely up to us more than the opponent,” Blashill said. “Certainly, they’ve (Sharks) had some high-scoring games coming out of the break, but I also know that usually means that the team puts an emphasis on defense."
