Detroit Red Wings wakeup call too late in loss to Ottawa Senators
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Among the Detroit Red Wings' advantages were the return of their captain plus an opponent that had played the night before and was forced to field two defensemen making their NHL debuts.
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All that, and the Wings were the team booed in teh second period at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, March 24, when the Ottawa Senators racked up two goals inside two minutes. The emotion and energy that marked the first two games of this homestand didn't appear until the third period, when the Wings – at least in spurts – looked more like a team fighting for its playoff hopes.
It wasn't enough. The Wings fell, 3-2, losing at home for a second straight game.
Detroit Red Wings playoff picture
The Wings fell to 38-25-8, and the Senators moved to 85 points, clearing the 84-point Wings in the standings, with Detroit now having to climb over two teams to reach the second wild-card berth.
Next up for the Red Wings
It’s a matchup of the NHL teams with the longest active playoff droughts, as the Wings head to Buffalo, New York to face the Sabres on Friday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). Of course, the Sabres have been the NHL’s hottest team for nearly three months in climbing atop the Atlantic Division; their 14-year drought is a virtual lock to come to an end next month. The Wings, meanwhile, sit at nine years.
Dylan Larkin returns
Captain Dylan Larkin reappeared after missing seven games nursing a lower-body injury suffered March 6 when he pulled up to take a shot and his right leg buckled awkwardly. The Wings went 3-3-1 in his absence. "Any time you're out, it's hard to watch, more stressful to watch," Larkin said before Tuesday's game. "But I'm proud of the way the guys played. They battled, and they're in the fight, and I think it's inspiring to come back and join them and join them in how they've been battling."
Larkin edged his team within a goal of the Sens at 4:13 of the third period when he converted during the Wings' third power play.
Momentum changer
The Wings celebrated at 15:27 of the first period when Alex DeBrincat put the puck behind LInus Ullmark, set up by a highlight quality pass from Lucas Raymond, who held onto the puck at the bottom of the left circle until he spotted an opening through which to thread the puck to DeBrincat just as he arrived to the right of the net. But the Senators successfully challenged Patrick Kane was offside, overturning the goal call.
Instead, the Wings fell behind at 17:15, while Simon Edvinsson was in the penalty box. Tim Stützle fired a shot from up top that Brady Tkachuk tipped behind goalie John Gibson to put the Senators up, 1-0.
Two in one
Defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, 20, was making his NHL debut a night after the Senators lost top defenseman Thomas Chabot to injury Monday. (They also lost Lassi Thomson, playing his first game of the season with Ottawa). Yakemchuk drew an assist on Tkachuk's goal, and then scored when Yakemchuk fired a seeing-eye puck into Detroit's net at 9:28 of the second period, earning two points in his first game. Marco Kasper had a chance to clear the puck during the seconds leading up to the goal, but instead passed the puck back into his zone to J.T. Compher, who could not control it.
First to three
Tkachuk picked up a second assist when he outworked Albert Johansson along the boards and sent a pass to Lars Eller, which he turned into a 3-0 lead at 11:05 of the second period, on what was Ottawa's 12th shot on net. The Wings finally solved Ullmark at 14:50 when Dominik Shine redirected Edvinsson's shot.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff hopes take big hit in Ottawa Senators loss