DETROIT – Moritz Seider had four assists, tying the Red Wings’ single-game franchise record for a defenseman, and Detroit beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-5 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game skid.
Jake Walman, Jonatan Berggren and Oskar Sundqvist scored in the first period — all assisted by Seider — to give Detroit a 3-0 lead. Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri and Lucas Raymond also scored for the Red Wings, who lamented their shaky defense.
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“I think tomorrow we will turn the page and look at the result with a big smile on our face,” Seider said. “It was a big win for us.
“I think we will just watch some tape, learn from our mistakes and play better defense next game. For most of the year we’ve played pretty solid defensively.”
Neal Pionk, Sam Gagner, Nate Schmidt, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, whose five-game winning streak ended.
“We gave up some chances early that we never give up, and they were having the kind of night where the puck keeps going in,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said. “We had 85 shot attempts, which is more than enough to win the hockey game.”
Walman, a defenseman, beat Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck on Detroit’s first shot of the game. Hellebuyck allowed six goals on 22 shots as he lost for the first time since Dec. 27.
“That was just way too many chances, and it wasn’t just a lot of shots, but it was Grade-A and Grade-B chances,” Schmidt said. “That’s not fair to Helly.
“That’s not the brand of hockey we can play if we want to win.”
Before the period ended, defenseman Pionk scored for the Jets when his point shot eluded Red Wings goalie Ville Husso, who finished with 32 saves.
Kubalik made it 4-1 in the second period with his 13th goal. Detroit’s second-leading scorer has just three goals over the past 15 games.
Schmidt’s goal got Winnipeg within 4-3.
“You can’t spot those guys a three-goal lead in this building,” Gagner said. “We’ve talked a lot about being better at the start and that’s an area of growth going forward.”
Larkin’s team-leading 14th goal ended Detroit’s 0-for-11 slump on the power play and sent the Red Wings into the third period with a 5-3 lead. Seider had the primary assist, his last of the game.
“I like that we scored, and we won the game, but maybe our worst game of the year,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “I can’t believe how poorly we managed the puck.”
Ehlers scored 33 seconds into the third period to get Winnipeg within 5-4. Fabbri made it 6-4 less than 90 seconds later. The Jets got within 6-5 on Scheifele’s power-play goal with 5:05 remaining.
“When it was 6-5, I think everyone on the bench thought we were going to win it,” Schmidt said. “We knew we hadn’t played our best game and we still had a chance to win. But you can’t put yourself in that spot.”
Raymond’s empty-netter put it away for Detroit.
“It feels great,” Raymond said. “We didn’t play our best game tonight. We’ve lost games where we’ve played a lot better.
“To be able to get a win when we’re not top performing is huge.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Detroit forward Tyler Bertuzzi returned from a broken hand that sidelined him for 16 games.
UP NEXT
Jets: At Buffalo on Thursday night.
Red Wings: Host Toronto on Thursday night.