NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin scored and added an assist and Alex Lyon made 28 saves as the Detroit Red Wings downed the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Jonatan Berggren, J.T. Compher, Alex DeBrincat and Marco Kasper also scored for the Red Wings who won their third straight. Detroit will miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season.
The Devils finished with 42 wins and 91 points for third place in the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
Larkin increased the lead to 3-0 with his 30th goal at 2:55 of the third. Simon Edvinsson, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond each had two assists for Detroit.
Erik Haula ruined Lyon’s shutout bid with 9:28 left in the third on the power-play. Dawson Mercer made it 3-2 at 14:21.
New Jersey missed the playoffs last season after losing in the second round the year before.
New Jersey rested forwards Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat and Stefan Noesen as well as defensemen Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic.
Daws made 22 saves in defeat. He has spent most of the season with AHL Utica.
Takeaways
Devils: New Jersey defenseman Dougie Hamilton played his first game since March 4. He was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Red Wings: Detroit played a strong defensive game in their next-to-last contest of the season.
Key moment
Berggren’s opening goal gave the Red Wings all the momentum they needed against a New Jersey team resting numerous regulars.
Key stat
Larkin reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth straight season.
Up next
The Devils will start playoffs next week at the Carolina Hurricanes. The Red Wings visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday to complete their regular season.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Allan Kreda, The Associated Press
