Coming off disappointment, Red Wings host Ducks

The first game since a two-week break left the Detroit Red Wings filled with regret. At least they don’t have too much time to dwell on their overtime loss to Minnesota, as they’ll host the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Detroit was unable to hold a 3-1 third-period lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to the visiting Wild on Saturday. That cost the Red Wings a valuable point in their quest for a playoff berth.

“The best part is we get another game tomorrow,” forward Lucas Raymond said. “We know what we should have done better. We played a pretty solid game for two and a half (periods) and let it slip away from us. Everyone will be eager to get back at it.”

Raymond scored a power play goal 22 seconds into the third period. The Red Wings gave up a goal on a delayed penalty and allowed the tying goal after the Wild pulled their goaltender. Marco Rossi scored the game-winner on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box, as Detroit failed to take advantage of an overtime, 4-on-3 power play.

“We have to score there and put the game away,” center Dylan Larkin said. “They got one there on the 5-on-4 that was a delayed penalty, and they got one 6-on-5. We just let them get in the zone and establish zone time late in the game.”

Larkin scored his 13th power-play goal of the season, tying him for the league lead. It will be the third game in four days for Larkin, a prominent member of Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off event.

“Are we disappointed we gave up a point? Certainly. I thought when we started the third and scored, we felt pretty good,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “Then that next power play, we were a little bit sloppy, and we could have put the nail in the coffin and that hurt us a little bit.”

The Red Wings had a somewhat similar experience in their first meeting with Anaheim on Nov. 15. The Ducks scored four third-period goals to pull out a 6-4 win.

Anaheim will have an even quicker turnaround than Detroit on Sunday. While the Red Wings played an early afternoon contest, the Ducks secured a 3-2 overtime win at Boston on Saturday night. Leo Carlsson scored the game-winner after the Bruins tied the contest with 1:11 remaining in regulation.

Anaheim will carry a four-game winning streak into Sunday’s game. It has won seven of its last eight games to move above the .500 mark.

“Getting two points in this building is hard and we were up for the challenge,” said forward Frank Vatrano, who scored one of the regulation goals. “Obviously, they tied up the game late and we were resilient all the way to the end. It’s a big two points for us. We’ve got to keep going.”

The Ducks defense has been solid during the four-game surge — they haven’t given up more than two goals in that stretch.

Detroit center Andrew Copp is unlikely to play on Sunday after he suffered an injury during a second-period scuffle on Saturday.

–Field Level Media