Tomas Tatar 12-17-16

The Red Wings' Tomas Tatar celebrates one of his goals against the Ducks.

(The Associated Press)

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday discovered the offensive touch that has missing much of this season, especially the past week.

They desperately needed to stop the bleeding, and they did, thanks in large part to Tomas Tatar.

Tatar tallied his first career hat trick as the Red Wings defeated the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings (14-14-4) ended a four-game winless slide (0-3-1), taking the final game of a five-game homestand. They will play 10 of their next 11 on the road.

It was a season-high goal total for Detroit, which had scored only three goals in the first four games of the homestand.

Xavier Ouellet had a goal and an assist. Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen scored goals. Anthony Mantha and Thomas Vanek had two assists each.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle pulled Jonathan Bernier at the start of the third period after he allowed four goals on 21 shots.

Tatar promptly greeted John Gibson by scoring his third goal of the game, his seventh of the season, at 4:51 to put Detroit up 5-3. He was all alone in front of the net when he deked Gibson.

Rickard Rackell tallied his second goal of the game at 6:35 to trim the deficit to one, before Nielsen notched a huge insurance goal at 10:33, firing in a rebound from the crease.

Cam Fowler gave Anaheim a 3-1 lead by whipping a shot past Petr Mrazek off a rush at 5:16 of the second period.

Trailing by two, the Red Wings scored three goals in a span of 10:38 in the second period.

The flurry started with a fortunate bounce. Tatar's shot went off Fowler's skate, off the back boards, off Bernier and in at 7:14.

Larkin tied it with his team-leading 10th goal at 11:22. The puck went in off his skate as he crashed the net, but officials ruled there was no kicking motion. The Ducks challenged goalie interference as Larkin contacted Bernier, but the goal was upheld following a lengthy review.

Ouellet gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead at 17:52 with his first goal of the season, the third of his career. It marked the first time the Red Wings have led during this homestand.

The Red Wings played well in the first period. They skated hard, played with urgency, spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and generated chances. But they trailed 2-1, allowing a pair of power-play goals.

Rackell scored at 3:41, standing by the side of the net and slam-dunking a pass from Sami Vatanen. Steve Ott had broken his stick, putting his team at a greater disadvantage.

Theodore made it 2-0 at 10:17, whipping in a shot from the top of the faceoff circle through traffic.

Tatar got the Red Wings on the scoreboard at 13:33, knocking in the rebound of a shot by Mike Green.