The top line breathed a little life back into the Detroit Red Wings, but it wasn’t enough of a resuscitation effort.
Returning to Little Caesars Arena on Saturday after off a pair of games on the road and with another pair awaiting next week, the Wings took on the Colorado Avalanche. Different opponent; same result: This night, a 2-1 loss.
It was the fifth straight game the Wings (10-13-2) lost by a goal and seventh straight loss by one goal. They have just two points their last five games.
The Wings had given up an even-strength and a power-play goal to the Avalanche when Lucas Raymond’s 10th goal of the season edged the Wings down by a goal entering the third period.
They struggled to carry the momentum into the third period, however, registering one shot on Alexandar Georgiev the first 10 minutes of the period, while Ville Husso stopped six in that span. Husso was pulled with 2:30 to play for the extra attacker.
Falling behind
It had been a pretty even game when the Avs grabbed the lead. Samuel Girard fired a cross-ice pass that Valeri Nichuskin picked up and skated into Detroit’s zone, firing a shot from the top of the right circle.
Ben Chiarot blocked that attempt, but Nichuskin was able to recoup his own rebound, took it backhand to forehand and fired a shot from the slot that sailed by Jeff Petry and Husso and into Detroit’s net at 10:48 of the first period.
Raymond nets No. 10
After a rare outing going 5 for 5 killing penalties at Ottawa, the Wings were back to their vulnerable ways with a teammate in the box. Vladimir Tarasenko was called for hooking at 2:16 of the second period, and inside half a minute Cale Makar put the Avalanche up 2-0 when he fired a shot through traffic.
The Wings were able to halve that lead when Raymond redirected Dylan Larkin’s shot at 18:13, a huge momentum lift just as the period was winding down. That was Raymond’s eighth goal in his last nine games.
Cossa on horizon?
The game marked the third straight start and fourth straight appearance for Husso, who has ben the go-to guy between the pipes since Cam Talbot suffered a lower-body injury Dec. 1 game against Vancouver. Both he and Alex Lyon (also lower body) are out at least through Monday, when the Wings play the Sabres in Buffalo.
Given neither has practiced for a week or more, it may be optimistic that will be ready by Dec. 12 when the Wings are in Philadelphia. That could lead the Wings to give Sebastian Cossa, their first-round pick from 2021, his first career NHL start Monday, to avoid overworking Husso.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.