Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was one who got away from the Detroit Red Wings 16 months ago and Saturday he made his former team regret that even more.

Gostisbehere contributed a goal and an assist to spark the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win against the Red Wings in a game that decided the No. 1 position in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes are 23-11-3 for 49 points, while the Red Wings are 22-14-3 for 47 points.

The Red Wings wanted to keep free agent Gostisbehere two summers ago, but he chose to sign with the Hurricanes because they gave him an extra year on his contract.

Trailing 3-1 going into the third period, Andrew Copp scored a power play goal to make it a one-goal game at 6:55 of the period. He converted a goalmouth feed from John Leonard who has four points in his first six games with Detroit.

The Red Wings’ hope for a tying goal seemed realistic until Dylan Larkin lost an edge on his skate with 6:49 left in regulation. He fell to the ice in his own zone, lost the puck. Andrei Svechnikov scored on a breakaway to regain the two-goal lead. Jordan Martinook had an empty-netter to provide the final margin of victory.

Detroit only managed 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes but held a 1-0 lead going into the second period on Michael Rasmussen’s first period goal.

In the second period, Gostisbehere went to work as the Hurricanes produced three goals. He assisted on Jackson Blake’s goal at 3:22 to tie the game. Eric Robinson scored 1:15 later to give Carolina a lead it never lost. Gostisbehere then sniped a shot in the upper right corner at 15:22 to give Carolina a two-goal lead going into the third period.

Takeaways

Forward Patrick Kane is still sidelined with an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t played since Dec. 13. . .Elmer Soderblom was back in the lineup because James van Riemsdyk was out for unknown reasons.

Red Wings Key Moment

Gostisbehere’s goal in the second period gave the Hurricanes a two-goal lead and added to their momentum. The Hurricanes only give up 2.89 goals per game.

Red Wings Key Stat

The loss ended John Gibson’s eight-game winning streak. It was the longest streak since Chris Osgood won eight in a row in 2008. . .Andrew Copp scored a third period goal to give him 10 points in his last 10 games. Coach Todd McLellan’s decision to insert Copp at the No. 2 center was a major factor in Detroit’s 9-2-1 December.

Up Next

The Red Wings fly home tonight to play the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m, FanDuel Sports Network). The Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-5 Saturday night.

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