Detroit – Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar each had a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings routed the New York Islanders 5-1 for their first home win of 2016, a game delayed 36 minutes by a malfunctioning Zamboni that chopped up a section of the ice.
The Red Wings, who were 0-4-1 at home since Dec. 20, also got goals from Tomas Jurco, Mike Green and Kyle Quincey. Petr Mrazek made 28 saves to improve to 8-2-1 in his last 11 starts.
John Tavares had New York's only goal Jaroslav Halak was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots.
The start of the third period was delayed after a Zamboni ripped up a line of ice stretching from in front of the Red Wings net past the blue line. As a result, the teams changed ends at the midway point of the third so that neither team would get an advantage from the bad ice.
The Red Wings were outshot 10-5 in the first period, but Mrazek kept them in the game, and Gustav Nyquist made a great play to put Detroit ahead.
He skated back toward the blue line to retrieve a loose puck and took it along the boards. Just as the Islander defense was convinced he was going around the net, he flicked a pass back to Jurco, who beat Halak for his third of the season.
Before the period was over, the Red Wings were up 2-0. In a 4-on-4 situation, Pavel Datsyuk's pass sprung Larkin and Quincey on a 2-on-1 break. Larkin's pass left Quincey with a fairly easy shot to beat Halak.
Two Islanders penalties in 37 seconds gave the Red Wings a two-man advantage in the second period, and they only needed 19 seconds to capitalize. Green beat Halak from the point for his third of the season and Detroit's third on eight shots.
Tomas Tatar made it 4-0 midway through the second, knocking home the rebound after Halak couldn't handle Andreas Athanasiou's shot. Athanasiou picked up his first career assist on the play, and Islanders coach Jack Capuano pulled Halak in favor of Jean-Francois Berube.
Larkin didn't have any problem navigating the choppy seam early in the period, taking the puck away from Brian Strait and putting a shot over Berube's shoulder for his 18th goal. Tavares made it 5-1 with a power-play goal moments later, but New York wasn't able to mount any serious comeback.
NOTES: Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill inserted Athanasiou onto the third line for just his seventh game of the season. Joakim Andersson and Teemu Pulkkinen were both healthy scratches as the Red Wings try to replace injured Drew Miller. . Thomas Greiss was the odd man out in New York's three-goalie rotation, sitting out while Halak started ahead of Berube.
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