Recently acquired Mrazek earns first shutout of season as Red Wings blank Knights 3-0

DETROIT (AP) — Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Sunday.

Mrazek was making his third start since he was acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline.

Rookie defenseman Albert Johansson scored his second career goal at 7:58 of the second period to give Detroit the lead.

Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper had third-period goals for the Red Wings, who had lost seven of their past eight games.

Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost four of their past five games.

Golden Knights: Their lead in the Pacific Division has been whittled to five points. They wrapped up a 1-1-2 road trip while the second-place Los Angeles Kings have won five straight.

Red Wings: Their victory provided a little momentum entering a four-game road trip. The Red Wings, who haven't qualified for the postseason the past eight years, play 10 of their last 15 games on the road.

Raymond gave the Red Wings some breathing room with his first goal in 11 games at 4:51 of the third. Raymond skated into the slot and lifted the puck past Samsonov's glove to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.

Mrazek's shutout was the 26th of his career but just his second in the past four seasons, spanning 145 starts.

The Golden Knights host Boston on Thursday while the Red Wings visit Washington on Tuesday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson, right, skates past Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) and scores a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings players surround Albert Johansson after he scored a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) and defenseman Kaedan Korczak (6) watch during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat, right, skates with the puck as Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is called for slashing him on the play during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat, left, passes the puck away from Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan, standing, watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy, standing, watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, left, passes the puck as Detroit Red Wings defenseman Justin Holl defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Brandon Saad skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Vegas Golden Knights center Ivan Barbashev skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings center Marco Kasper skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson passes the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek (43) watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

FLORENCE, Arizona (AP) — An Arizona man who kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend's ex-husband was executed Wednesday, the second of four prisoners scheduled to be put to death this week in the U.S.

Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, was lethally injected with pentobarbital at the Arizona State Prison Complex in the town of Florence. Gunches fatally shot Ted Price in the desert outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa in 2002.

Louisiana executed a man on Tuesday and two more executions were scheduled in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday. Arizona is the first state with a Democratic governor to execute someone since 2017, when Virginia did so under then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Gunches’ execution had originally been scheduled for April 2023, but was called off after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered a review of the state’s death penalty procedures. Late last year, Hobbs fired the retired judge she had appointed to conduct the review, and the state’s corrections department announced changes in the team that lethally injects death row prisoners.

Authorities say Price’s ex-wife struck Price in the face with a phone during an argument in late 2002 at her apartment, leaving him conscious but dazed. Price’s sister, Karen Price, said her brother had threatened to report his ex to child welfare authorities for doing drugs in front of their children.

Gunches arrived at the apartment later. He asked two other women who were there with his girlfriend to put Price in a car and drive him to a bus station. But when they realized they didn’t have enough money for a bus ticket, they instead drove into the desert, where Gunches shot Price, authorities said.

Gunches was arrested in January 2003 after being pulled over by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper near the California state line. Gunches shot the trooper, who was saved by a bulletproof vest. Bullet casings from that shooting matched ammunition that had been found near Price’s body, and Gunches was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in October 2003. He pleaded guilty in 2007.

Karen Price described her brother as a kind and loving person who enjoyed watching the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks and riding his motorcycle. She said her family was devastated by Ted’s death.

“Ted’s murder was not random,” Colleen Clase, a lawyer representing Karen Price, said in a statement distributed to the news media. “It was a senseless act committed because he dared to do the right thing. Nearly 23 years later, today marks the end of a long and painful legal process. While no execution can truly bring closure, it is a relief to no longer relive this nightmare in courtrooms and legal battles.”

Ted Price’s daughter, Brittney Price said in a statement that the “pain of reliving the circumstances surrounding my father’s death for over two decades has taken a significant toll on my family and me.”

“Today marks the end of that painful chapter and I couldn’t be more grateful,” she said.

Gunches, who represented himself even though he isn’t a lawyer, asked the Arizona Supreme Court in 2022 to issue an execution warrant against him to give closure to Price’s family. He later withdrew the request. The execution was scheduled anyway but later postponed amid the review ordered by Hobbs.

In late December, Gunches asked the state’s highest court to skip legal formalities and schedule his execution as soon as possible, saying his death sentence was “long overdue.” The court refused the request and later set his execution date for Wednesday.

There were no last-minute reprieves for Gunches, despite objections by lawyers who didn’t represent him yet still asked the Arizona Supreme Court not to issue his execution warrant. The lawyers said injecting someone with pentobarbital in large amounts has been shown to cause fluid to seep into the lungs and drown people in their own fluids.

The court rejected their request, saying it was not appropriate to use Gunches’ case to argue the merits of lethal injection. It also ruled that the necessary requirements to carry out Gunches’ execution had been met.

Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry shows Aaron Brian Gunches, who was convicted of murder in the 2002 killing of Ted Price in Maricopa County, Ariz. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP, File)