After a disappointing overtime loss in Buffalo on Thursday, the Wings were back in action at Little Caesars Arena tonight as the Carolina Hurricanes were in town. Carolina had lost four straight coming into tonight game, including a devastating 6-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. The Wings added insult to injury as they downed the Hurricanes 3-1, led by their captain and an unlikely defense duo.

Carolina seemed to have gotten on the board first about eight minutes into the period when Justin Faulk scored, but the goal was called back. It was deemed that he kicked the puck into the net.

It was a lucky break for the Wings and they took advantage. Danny DeKeyser netted the first legal goal of the game off a beautiful pass by Dylan Larkin.

That was DeKeyser’s fifth goal of the season and Larkin’s 45th point, which is tied with his career-high point total from his rookie season.

The second period was a busy one as the Hurricanes clawed their way back into the game. When Nick Jensen lost the puck deep in the defensive zone, Viktor Rask picked it up and spotted Noah Hanifin at the top of the circle. Hanifin sniped home a beautiful shot to tie the game at one.

The Wings wouldn’t stand for that, though. Less than a minute later, they had the lead back as Henrik Zetterberg tipped in a Gustav Nyquist pass in the slot. This was Z’s 335th career goal, which ties Ted Lindsay for fifth on the Red Wings all-time goal list. It’s quite the achievement for our beautiful bearded captain!

Before the Wings Twitter account could even get the Zetterberg goal highlight up, the Wings were back on the scoreboard as Trevor Daley sniped home a beautiful shot from the top of the circle. The goal was created by Andreas Athanasiou who recovered the puck deep in the Canes’ zone and found Daley all alone at the top of the circle. It was a very similar goal to the one Noah Hanifin had earlier in the period.

There was no scoring in the third period, but there was a lot of Jimmy Howard. The Hurricanes out-shot the Wings 12-5 in the third and Howard stopped each and every shot. He had a great game, as highlighted by some saves on the Wings Twitter feed:

This chart looks pretty ugly, even though Detroit won the game. The Wings had a dismal 36.25 Corsi-For percentage at 5-on-5. They were out-shot 29-22, but they were helped out immensely by the powerplay. At 5-on-5, the Wings were out-shot 21-13. So, yeah, that’s not good. They are lucky that Carolina’s goaltending is not very good.

Tonight’s Motor City MVP is our beloved captain, Henrik Zetterberg. Not only was his goal the game winner, it was another impressive milestone goal for the veteran. Ted Lindsay is one of the all-time greats and Zetterberg’s name does not look out of place beside it. He’ll no doubt pass the former captain, further solidifying himself in Red Wings history forever.

The Wings are back in action tomorrow night in downtown New York City as they face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop is 7:30 P.M. ET and you can catch the game on Fox Sports Detroit or MSG if you’re tuning in from NYC.

Be sure to check back early tomorrow for the pre-game report.