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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Sport
Ted Kulfan

Red Wings' keep good times rolling with shutout of Islanders after 1998 Stanley Cup celebration

DETROIT — Someone tell the Red Wings' alumni to stick around a while longer.

They certainly provided good luck and saw some winning hockey from the present Wings, too.

With the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup championship teams in attendance, the Wings won their second consecutive game Saturday while the memories flowed, defeating the New York Islanders, 3-0.

The Wings dominated the special teams, with Lucas Raymond scoring on a power play and Pius Suter scoring a short-handed goal. Dominik Kubalik scored in the third period and Ville Husso continued his red-hot goaltending with 26 saves en route to his second shutout.

Husso saved his best for the third period, with the Islanders pressing, making fine stops on Oliver Wahlstrom and Mathew Barzal.

It was the 1998 team that was honored Saturday in pregame ceremonies, with Steve Yzerman addressing the crowd, the team raising the banner again, and Vladimir Konstantinov, whose life-changing accident days after the 1997 Stanley Cup championship marred the summer between the seasons, dropping the ceremonial first puck Saturday along with Yzerman.

The ceremony jolted the Little Caesars Arena crowd and the energy remained the rest of the afternoon.

Raymond seemed to get under the Islanders' skin all afternoon. Raymond made the Islanders pay with the Wings enjoying a two-man advantage, at the 6:29 mark, slamming in a pass from Kubalik for his fourth goal.

The Wings extended the lead to 2-0 on Suter's second goal, this one short-handed. Adam Erne pushed the puck ahead to the neutral zone, where Suter won a race to it, and skated in alone on goalie Ilya Sorokin, beating Sorokin from the dot at the 12:51 mark.

Sorokin had just replaced Semyon Varlamov, who briefly left due to a collision in the crease.

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