Panarin has 3 points, Rangers win again on road against Red Wings

DETROIT -- Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, and the New York Rangers became the first team in NHL history to have each of its first seven wins of a season come on the road in a 4-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.

Panarin has 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in his past 16 games against Detroit. The points were his first since a goal against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 20.

Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (7-6-2), who are 7-1-1 on the road and 0-5-1 at home, where they have scored six goals in six games entering their game against the New York Islanders on Saturday. Jonathan Quick made 32 saves.

“Our best players were our best players tonight,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “That was an important element of our game. Our struggles to score have never been through a lack of effort; we have some very capable goal-scorers and they showed that tonight.”

J.T. Compher scored the lone goal for Detroit (9-6-0). Cam Talbot made 22 saves.

“I thought we were there physically tonight, but I’m not sure we were there between the ears again,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “That includes offensively. We had some pretty good opportunities and Jonathan Quick made some great saves, but when you are sharp, alert and attentive, some of those go in for you.”

Patrick Kane returned for the Red Wings after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. He played 17:41 and led them with six shots on goal.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Will Cuylle’s power-play goal at 6:46 of the first period. Cuylle trailed the original rush before beating Talbot off Mika Zibanejad's cross-ice pass.

Detroit tied it 1-1 at 11:06 when Compher took Mason Appleton’s pass from behind the net and put a wrist shot over Quick’s right shoulder.

Michigan native Noah Laba, with dozens of friends and family watching in the stands, made it 2-1 at 4:52 by tapping in Lafreniere’s pass from the edge of the crease.

“I’ve seen a lot of Red Wings games at Joe Louis Arena and a lot of games here,” said Laba, who grew up about 30 miles west of downtown Detroit. “Scoring a National Hockey League goal in this building is so special.”

Kane nearly had one of the easiest goals of his career after he intercepted Quick’s pass at 9:30 of the second period, but Quick and Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider combined to keep Kane from putting the bouncing puck into the empty net.

“He bails us out after our mistakes every time, and tonight he made up for his own little mess,” Schneider said of Quick. “He dove and poked it away, and then I tried to hit (Kane’s) stick to get the puck away.”

Panarin made it 3-1 at 7:29 of the third period, taking a pass from Zibanejad and beating Talbot for his third goal of the season.

“Artemi drives offense every game, and he makes a handful of plays every night that could end up in the net,” Sullivan said. “They haven’t been going in for him, but they did tonight.

“That was a goal-scorer’s goal.”

Lafreniere’s goal at 8:27 ended his 12-game scoreless drought and gave the Rangers a 4-1 lead for the final.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of giving ourselves a chance most of the game,” Compher said. “But they strike to make it 3-1 and then we kind of give them one to make it 4-1 and it feels way different.”

NOTES: New York has won seven in a row against Detroit. ... The assist was Lafreniere’s 200th NHL point (93 goals, 107 assists). ... Rangers forward Jaroslav Chmelar played 6:27 on the fourth line in his NHL debut. He finished with four hits and a fighting major. … The Red Wings have only scored five even-strength goals in their past five games.