RECAP: Red Wings fall to Isles, 2-0, in final game before All-Star break

ELMONT, N.Y. -- In their final game before the 2023 NHL All-Star break, the Detroit Red Wings were shut out by the New York Islanders, 2-0, on Friday night at UBS Arena.

Following a scoreless first period, New York went ahead, 1-0, at 4:44 of the second, then doubled its lead early in the third. Detroit pulled goalie Magnus Hellberg (27 saves) late in the final frame for an extra skater, but couldn't solve Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin, who recorded his fourth shutout of the season.
"I wouldn't go as far as frustrating," head coach Derek Lalonde said. "I didn't think we played a bad road game at all, just couldn't generate enough offense. And when we did, Sorokin obviously was there."
The Red Wings and Islanders both went 0-4 on the power play. New York outshot Detroit, 29-23.
"We're playing good hockey," David Perron said. "We just don't always find results. A night like tonight is maybe a little bit harder with the way the travel was if you wanna give the dads something to cheer for. But we couldn't manage to get one goal to get some more energy."
With the loss, the Red Wings (21-19-8;50 points) enter the All-Star break ranked sixth in the Atlantic Division. The Isles snapped a six-game winless streak, improving to 24-22-5 (53 points) on the season.
"Yes we have our dads here, but it could be one that we don't show up for," captain Dylan Larkin said. "And we showed up tonight. Just didn't get past Sorokin."
According to Larkin, he hopes Detroit can use the All-Star break as "a little bit of a reset."
"One thing about this whole process here is we practice, play games and are in the gym," Larkin said. "It's a grind, but we get some time to rest, regroup and get away from it a little bit to come back refreshed for a strong push."
NEXT UP: Larkin will represent the Winged Wheel at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, which will be held at FLA Live Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Red Wings will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 7, when they host the Edmonton Oilers for Nurse Appreciation Night at Little Caesars Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

New York 1, Detroit 0 (4:44, 2nd period)
After falling in front of Detroit's net, Anders Lee tipped in Kyle Palmieri's redirect through the five-hole for the deciding game-opening goal.
New York 2, Detroit 0 (4:31, 2nd period)
Brock Nelson doubled New York's lead when his wrister from the point got past Hellberg.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on what impressed him, despite Friday's result
"We've had some sporadic play in all of our areas. But again, even tonight, it would be really hard to knock this group on effort."
Perron on what the Red Wings must do out of the All-Star break
"We gotta get our rest, get refocused, do some workouts and get reenergized to come back for a big push before the deadline to give Steve (Yzerman) something to think about."
Larkin on what the key will be for Detroit after the All-Star break
"We got a lot of hockey coming up. It's pretty packed in there, games every other day. We're in a tough division with a lot of divisional opponents, but we have to continue to play the way we've been playing."
Larkin on finishing the second half of the season strong
"I hope that we can remain together, see it through and give it all we got. We haven't been able to do that in many years, but that's my hope- to see this thing through, stay in it and make going to the rink meaningful every day down the stretch."