Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Darren Helm and Daniel Alfredsson each registered two goals and an assist to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-0 rout of the skidding New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
Gustav Nyquist also scored for Detroit and Jimmy Howard recorded 29 saves to notch his second shutout of the season. Brendan Smith and Niklas Kronwall added two assists apiece in the Red Wings' third consecutive win.
Kevin Poulin finished with 25 saves in the loss, the Islanders' fifth straight in regulation.
"We have to try and find some answers," said Islanders captain John Tavares. "We are obviously an easy team to play against right now."
Helm accounted for Detroit's first two goals, one of which came shorthanded during the Islanders' lone power-play opportunity of the afternoon.
Alfredsson led a Red Wings' rush before dishing the puck off to Helm, who snuck a backhander through Poulin's pads to give his team an early advantage 7:09 in.
New York had a chance to draw even after the Red Wings' Justin Abdelkader was sent off for interference with just under four minutes elapsed in the second period. However, Helm beat Isles defenseman Andrew MacDonald to a puck chipped into the opposing zone by Daniel Cleary, then flicked it over a charging Poulin while tumbling over the goaltender just 46 seconds following the penalty.
The Islanders peppered Howard with 12 shots during the opening frame and 10 more in the third, when Detroit scored three more times to put the contest out of reach.
"It was a big game for him," Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said of Howard. "We all know [our] history in this arena, it hasn't been easy to come here and play, but Howard really made some key saves for us in the beginning."
Smith delivered a pinpoint pass to Alfredsson, who split two defenders prior to beating Poulin glove-side on a breakaway a mere 12 seconds in the final session for a 3-0 lead. Nyquist got his goal at the 6:12 mark, connecting off a Johan Franzen feed with Detroit on a 2-on-1 situation.
Alfredsson poked home a rebound of Kronwall's long drive from the point with 3:37 remaining to put the finishing touches on the lopsided win.
Game Notes
The Red Wings had dropped their last five meetings with the Islanders, including a 5-4 shootout setback on Long Island on Nov. 16. Detroit's most recent victory in the series had come on Jan. 30, 2007 ... Helm had a goal and an assist in the teams' previous matchup and has now scored six times in his past seven outings ... Kronwall extended his point streak to five games ... New York fell to 0-13-1 this season when scoring two goals or less.
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