DETROIT -- Viktor Arvidsson had a hat trick and an assist for the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.
The win came on the day Detroit suspended former captain Dylan Larkin, who informed the team that he was no longer willing to play for the franchise while awaiting a trade.
“We’re moving on,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “That’s been going on for too long, and it is all we ever talked about.
We just played a heck of a game tonight.”
Lucas Raymond also scored for Detroit (6-4-3), which has won two in a row and is 5-1-3 in its past nine. Alex DeBrincat had two assists, and John Gibson made 18 saves.
“This was a day that could have gone either way,” McLellan said. “We’re coming off the road trip and there’s the other stuff going on, but the group pulled together and played as a team.”
Connor Bedard scored for Chicago (4-9-0), which has lost four of five. Spencer Knight made 27 saves.
“We just had too many players who weren’t close to being good enough,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think we’ve had a lot of games this season where we did a lot of good things and beat ourselves with critical mistakes.
“Tonight wasn’t that at all. It’s a step backward.”
The Blackhawks were coming off a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
“I think all of us expected to use Tuesday’s game to springboard us into a string of good play,” Chicago defenseman Ian Cole said. “So, it’s pretty unfortunate that we went out and did what we did tonight.”
Bedard gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 5:59 of the first period, deflecting Wyatt Kaiser’s shot off Gibson’s pads before knocking the rebound five-hole. Roman Kantserov picked up his first NHL assist on the play.
Arvidsson tied the game 1-1 at 7:31 of the second period, tipping William Wallinder’s point shot past Knight.
Red Wings defenseman Andreas Englund was called for hooking on a breakaway at 11:18 of the second period, giving Frank Nazar a penalty shot. Nazar cut in from the left wing, but Gibson made a pad save to keep the game tied.
Raymond put Detroit in front 2-1 with a power-play goal at 1:09 of the third period. He took the puck up the right boards, curled back in the circle, and roofed a shot past the blocker of Knight, who never went down on the play.
Arvidsson made it 3-1 at 15:26, pushing in the puck through a crowded crease. He then finished his sixth career hat trick by shooting into an empty net at 16:45 for the 4-1 final.
“Our second and third periods were outstanding,” Arvidsson said. “This is fun, I’m not going to lie.
Playing with (DeBrincat) and (Emmitt Finnie) has been working really well, and I’m just trying to do my part.”
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who played the previous three seasons with the Red Wings, received a long standing ovation after a tribute video in the first period.
“This was a very special place for me for a few years,” Kane said. “The fans have been great to me since I came here, and they’ve always been really good with my family.”
NOTES: Chicago’s second line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Donato and Anton Frondell did not play a shift together in the third period. Andrew Copp replaced Larkin between Raymond and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.
He was minus-1 and went 8-for-18 on face-offs in 18:08 of ice time.
