Back-to-back losses to Columbus slowed the Detroit Red Wings’ quest for a postseason berth. They will try to regain their footing when they host Carolina on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jackets handed the Red Wings a 5-2 loss in Detroit’s most recent home game on Thursday. The rematch was played Saturday night at Ohio Stadium as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series.
Columbus scored a controversial go-ahead goal in the third period en route to a 5-3 victory. The Red Wings are 2-3-1 in their last six games.
“We’ve gone on two seven-game winning streaks, kind of seen it all in 26, 27 games,” coach Todd McLellan said. “But I do believe we have work to do in understanding the ebbs and flows of a game, the ups and downs, the situations of when we should swing for the fences and some times we should just punt and defend a little bit. We were caught in between a few times.”
Columbus’ Justin Danforth broke a 3-3 tie with 2:17 remaining when he split two defenders and knocked in his own rebound. Danforth could have been whistled for high sticking defenseman Simon Edvinsson on his way to the net, but no penalty was called.
The Red Wings need a strong finish in their remaining 22 games to end their eight-season playoff drought.
“We control our own destiny,” team captain Dylan Larkin said. “We played well (Saturday); we deserved better.”
Alex DeBrincat scored two of Detroit’s goals and carries a nine-game point streak into Tuesday’s contest. He has eight goals and six assists during that span.
The visit to Detroit is the lone road game in an eight-game stretch for the Hurricanes. They won two of three at home last week after going 1-5 in the previous six contests.
This is the first of three meetings with the Red Wings. Carolina will host the Red Wings on March 14 and return to Detroit on April 4.
Sebastian Aho’s goal at 3:16 of overtime gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 victory over Calgary on Sunday. Aho, who has scored six goals over the last seven games, has a knack for being the extra-time star. Aho has scored all five of Carolina’s overtime goals this season.
“There’s a lot of room out there,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Then he can be creative, and he’s competitive as heck. Those combinations suit him in that type of environment.”
The game featured 10 power plays, and the Flames converted on one of their man advantages to tie the game in the third period.
“Obviously that was a test of patience,” Aho said. “There was so much going on. Penalties both ways. Five-on-five, it was almost impossible to find rhythm. Obviously a lot of minutes on the (penalty) kill. Yeah, a weird game.”
The Hurricanes are hopeful that the victory will be the start of a hot streak. They won only two games in February.
“You’d like to see us put the game away earlier with all those opportunities,” Aho said. “But that’s how things go. And it doesn’t really matter at this time of year how we win.”
–Field Level Media
