Detroit Red Wings' brief rally blown away by Hurricanes in 5-2 loss
The Detroit Red Wings pushed back against an early deficit to give themselves a chance, only to squander it.
They rallied from three goals down early on to make a game of it against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Feb. 28, but the threat petered out in the third period at Lenovo Center. After scoring two goals within a minute late in the second period, the Wings surrendered a pair or goals in the third en route to losing, 5-2.
Shayne Gostisbehere, who played for the Wings in 2023-24, scored early in the third period, jumping up into play to take a feed from Jackson Blake and beating Cam Talbot from the left circle to make it 4-2 for the Hurricanes. Blake added to the damage at 5:30, scoring off a two-on-one with a snipe from the right circle.
Detroit Red Wings playoff picture
The Wings (34-20-6) are still within the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but their hold on a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division is slipping. They didn't help their cause by showing some fight only to get blown off course.
With the loss, the Red Wings (74 points) seem likely to slip into a wild-card spot, as both the Buffalo Sabres (74 points) and Montreal Canadiens (73 points) held sizable third-period leads Saturday night.
Simon doesn't say
Playing in their second outing of a three-game trip, and coming off an overtime victory on the first stop, the Wings did not look sharp in the first period. It was an especially tough 20 minutes for Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson.
His decision to try to send the puck around Taylor Hall, rather than chip the puck up the boards, led to a turnover and a breakaway for Hall, who deked to his forehand as he approached Detroit's crease and slipped the puck behind Talbot with 5:55 to play in the first period.
The Wings faced being shorthanded with 41 seconds to play in the first period when Albert Johansson was called for tripping Gostisbehere. The offensive defenseman set up a 2-0 lead for the Hurricanes when he passed the puck to Sebastian Aho, who scored with 7.9 seconds to go in the first period when he took a shot from the top of the left circle, and the puck redirected in off Edvinsson's stick.
The Wings fell further behind three minutes into the second period, capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover, with Erick Robinson taking the puck to the net to make it 3-0. Edvinsson pulled the Wings within two goals with 1:34 to go in the second period when he received a terrific top-of-the-circles pass from Alex DeBrincat and snapped the puck behind goalie Frederik Andersen.
Patrick Kane scored for the first time in 15 games, for his first since reaching 500 on his career, unleashing a shot while sliding through the left circle and sending the puck short-side with 47 seconds to play in the period.
Next up for the Wings
The Wings wrap up their three-game post-Olympics road trip with a stop in Nashville, Tennessee, to face the Predators at 2 p.m. Monday. Why a day game? It’s not to make the Wings’ three Olympians feel golden – though it does have ties to Europe; the game between the Wings and Predators, in addition to being shown in Detroit on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, will be broadcast in prime-time hours across Europe. After their European showcase, the Wings finally return home on Wednesday for their first home game since the end of January, with the Vegas Golden Knights set to visit Little Caesars Arena.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings battered in 3rd period of 5-2 loss to Hurricanes
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