Playing at Little Caesars Arena for the first time since before the NHL’s Olympic break, the Detroit Red Wings lost 4-3 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. The team collected one point but expressed disappointment at missing out on a second after holding a 3-1 lead going into the third period.
“You got to be able to close games down,” said Lucas Raymond. “Having a 3-1 lead coming into the third, we should be able to do that. We didn’t do it tonight, so we got to be detailed. It’s so tight this time of the year and we know it better than anyone, but every point is a big point.”
Goaltender Cam Talbot made 21 saves for Detroit (35-20-7; 77 points), while Adin Hill recorded 23 saves for Vegas (29-19-14; 72 points), helping end their three-game losing streak.
Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan commented on his team’s performance: “We kind of played the first half of the game and then we played the second half. First half was excellent. We were excellent, direct, a lot of pucks went to the net, we were able to get some stuff back and maintained some O-zone time. And then in the second half of the game, we started pulling up and playing cross ice too much. They defended well and easier than they had to in the first, and that came back to bite us. A two-goal lead, you can’t sit back. We thought we were going to check our way to the points and it ended up costing us, so better be a lesson learned.”
Reilly Smith scored early for Vegas at 1:50 in the first period. Detroit responded with three goals before intermission—Emmitt Finnie tied it at 5:58 with assists from Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson; Edvinsson scored again at 15:15 with help from Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat; then DeBrincat added another less than a minute later assisted by Raymond and Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
“Our starts haven’t been the best all season,” McLellan said. “It was a good start for us, but we just didn’t sustain it.”
The Golden Knights tied it late in regulation with goals from Ivan Barbashev at 11:37 of the third period and Mitch Marner with just over three minutes left.
Detroit had four power play opportunities but did not convert any into goals.
“I thought we lost a little momentum on the power play,” McLellan said. “Our best power play was the last one, where we were desperate because the clock was ticking down. We attacked it like we were desperate. The others, we weren’t, so that took a little wind out of our sails as well.”
Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas on a power play at 2:11 in overtime.
“They were loud and they were ready,” DeBrincat said about returning home after more than a month away from Little Caesars Arena. “It was definitely fun to get back here and hopefully, we give them a little bit better Friday.”
Dylan Larkin left briefly after being cross-checked during Detroit’s fourth power play but returned for overtime.
McLellan provided an update on Larkin: “Dylan is sore, I’m sure, and obviously, not very happy with the outcome. He’ll get looked at by the training staff right now, I’m sure, and we’ll get an update. But, he was able to come back and play, which is a good sign.”
DeBrincat discussed what changed in Detroit’s approach during the third period: “I think we let our foot off the gas a little bit. Didn’t get enough shots to the net, didn’t get enough O-zone time. Flicking pucks out of the D-zone and just kind of trying to weather the storm, but good teams will make you pay like that. We got to come out in the third and stick to our same game that got us there.”
Raymond commented on recent offensive production at even strength: “It’s big in our game. Obviously, we have a good opportunity on the power play to kind of win the game late. So, we got to work on that and especially execute. I thought we got some really good looks but couldn’t finish it. It’s really good that we’re scoring 5-on-5 but we need to get going 5-on-4.”
The Red Wings will next face off against division rival Florida Panthers at home Friday night.
The Detroit Red Wings are one of six original National Hockey League franchises according to their official website. They represent Detroit, Michigan and host games downtown. Over their history they have won eleven Stanley Cup championships and are considered one of America’s top-performing NHL teams.
