Detroit Red Wings find their wind too late in 4-2 loss to Carolina Hurricanes

  • The Detroit Red Wings lost, 4-2, to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
  • Alex DeBrincat and Michael Rasmussen scored for the Red Wings, in the first and third periods, respectively.
  • The loss is the Red Wings’ seventh in eight games.

Bad news for the Detroit Red Wings: They still have another game left against the Carolina Hurricanes.

That’s a foe that just handed the Wings a second defeat in 10 days, with the ‘Canes winning 4-2 Friday at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Wings (31-29-6) made a hard push for a rally in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to avoid their seventh loss in regulation in their past eight games.

Michael Rasmussen used his 10th goal of the season to get the Wings within a goal 2:53 into the third period, tapping his own rebound behind Fredrik Andersen. Petr Mrázek (28 saves) left his net with 15 seconds left on a power play with 2:15 to play in the third period to give the Wings two extra skaters, and stayed on the bench for the extra skater advantage. Eric Robinson turned that opportunity into an empty-net goal with 1:11 to play.

Petr Mrázek:

Great to be back’ and chase playoffs with Red Wings

The Wings were able to play with a lead for a bit, as Alex DeBrincat scored on Detroit’s fourth shot on net, at 18:07 of the first period. Ben Chiarot pinched at Carolina’s blue line and clocked Jordan Martinook, knocking the puck loose. It popped over to DeBrincat, who wheeled towards the net before firing a puck that appeared to deflect off a Carolina defender’s stick.

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The Hurricanes tied the game 22 seconds into the second period, when Taylor Hall tipped Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s shot below Petr Mrázek’s glove. The Hurricanes moved ahead, 2-1, at 5:44 of the second period thanks to a defensive lapse by the Wings, who first let Kotkaniemi maneuver around on the left flank, and then left Jack Roslovic hover unguarded behind Moritz Seider just outside the net for an easy tap-in.

The Wings fell further behind near the midpoint of the game, when Jalen Chatfield (Ypsilanti) snapped a shot from the right faceoff dot that went bar down. The Hurricanes had a two-on-none breakaway near the end of the second period, but missed that opportunity to further the damage.

The teams play again April 4 in Detroit.

Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter

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