DETROIT – After turning in back-to-back solid defensive performances, the Detroit Red Wings returned to their poor game management ways on Thursday.
Turnovers, poor coverage, an untimely change and goals directly off of faceoffs cost them in a 5-0 loss to the New York Islanders at Little Caesars Arena.
Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and 24th of his career. Max Shabanov scored two goals.
The Islanders didn’t even need their power play (0 for 4), scoring all their goals five-on-five.
The Red Wings, who began the night leading the Atlantic Division, fell to 12-8-1.
The Islanders (12-7-2) have defeated the Red Wings twice, outscoring them 12-2. New York wrapped up a 6-1-0 stretch on the road leading to a seven-game homestand.
Trailing 2-0 after one period, the Red Wings’ comeback hopes were all but dashed when Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat scored 1:45 apart early in the second period.
Barzal scored on a shot from the slot at 3:19 after a Marco Kasper turnover in the Red Wings zone. Horvat whipped in a one-timer seconds after a faceoff win, the second such goal the Islanders scored.
Fourth-line forwards Calum Ritchie and Shabanov scored in the first period.
A complete defensive breakdown following a bas change by Kasper gave Ritchie a lot of open ice to skate down and fire the puck past Gibson at 6:46. Shabanov fired in a shot off the faceoff at 14:54.
Shabanov made it 5-0 at 6:52 of the third by splitting the defense pair of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson to score.
The Red Wings host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (1 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).
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