Mrazek makes 18 saves, Red Wings shut out Golden Knights 

DETROIT -- Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

It was Mrazek’s 14th career shutout for the Red Wings, but first since Jan. 22, 2018. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers later that season and was acquired by Detroit from the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

“Playing three straight games has definitely helped,” Mrazek said. “I hadn’t played for a while, and once you are playing, you get your confidence and your swagger back.”

Lucas Raymond scored his first goal in 11 games for the Red Wings (32-29-6), who had lost seven of eight.

“At the end of the night, the scoreboard was a really good thing for our team,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “It was a good night for a lot of our players, which should give us some confidence.”

Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Golden Knights (39-20-8), who did not have a power play and lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2), including 4-3 in a shootout at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

“We were a tired hockey team and they knew we were a tired hockey team,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s why I was salty about not putting yesterday’s game away.”

Albert Johansson gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 7:58 of the second period, taking a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko and deking Samsonov before sliding the puck into the open net.

Moments before the goal, Jonatan Berggren kept the play alive by keeping the puck on the edge of the blue line.

“It was tight -- really tight,” said Cassidy, who decided against challenging the call on the ice. “I think we stopped playing a little bit, thinking it was offside. That’s a millimeter that could have kept the game scoreless.”

Ivan Barbashev had a breakaway 1:45 into the third period but shot wide.

“We needed to do something to get us going, and we got the breakaway,” Cassidy said. “If we get that quick strike to tie it, it deflates the other team a little bit.”

Raymond then made it 2-0 at 4:51, cutting between two defenders, kicking the puck onto his stick and beating Samsonov for his 23rd goal and first since Feb. 22.

Vegas nearly scored midway through the third when Mark Stone’s shot trickled past Mrazek, but Dylan Larkin cleared the puck away from the crease.

Marco Kasper scored at 11:14, redirecting Erik Gustafsson’s feed into an open net for the 3-0 final.

The Golden Knights were held to five shots on goal in the third.

“They are a really good team, and we know that,” Kasper said. “We just tried to play a tight-checking game and tried to get some volume shooting.”

NOTES: Mrazek’s span of 2,611 days between shutouts for Detroit is the fifth-longest in NHL history by a goalie for the same franchise behind Pete Peeters (3,312 days with the Philadelphia Flyers), Bill Ranford (3,280 with the Boston Bruins), Brian Boucher (3,064 with Philadelphia) and Roberto Luongo (2,950 with the Florida Panthers). … Red Wings forward Patrick Kane had an assist in his 1,287th NHL game, which moved him past Phil Kessel for 10th all-time among United States-born players. … Jack Eichel’s eight-game point streak and Pavel Dorofeyev’s run of three games with a goal each came to an end.