Overtime losses aren’t necessarily a bad thing, particularly in the NHL.
The Detroit Red Wings are tied for the most OT defeats in the league with five, but each one is still worth a point. Detroit lost a shootout to Buffalo on Wednesday but has collected points in six of its last seven games.
The Red Wings will try to add another point or two when they finish off a five-game homestand against Vegas on Saturday.
Detroit trailed the Sabres 4-1 in the third period but forced overtime with the aid of two Oskar Sundqvist goals.
“You just don’t come back from three goals in this league. And the way we did it, I really thought the fight back started at the end of the second,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Down 4-1, it obviously wasn’t going our way and our guys just dug in. … They got rewarded.
“This is a huge point we’ll tap back into throughout the season.”
Andrew Copp assisted on both of Sundqvist’s goals.
“I don’t know about happy, but (I am) satisfied with the way we came back,” Copp said. “From 4-1 down, it’s a good sign. But it still sucks right now that we didn’t get the next point. We had a couple of chances to put it away.”
There were a couple of reasons for concern. Detroit went 0-for-7 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 advantage late in the third period after it had tied the score.
The Wings also failed to convert on three power plays in a loss to Toronto the previous game.
“We’re 0 for our last 10 on the power play and that’s frustrating,” Lalonde said. “You need your power play to be successful. If we get the power play either of these last two games, we’re probably looking at more than one point.”
Forward Tyler Bertuzzi was hit in the left hand by a shot and was later placed on injured reserve. Bertuzzi has already missed a chunk of time with an upper-body injury.
The Golden Knights could have defenseman Alex Pietrangelo back for Saturday’s contest. He has missed the last two games due to personal reasons.
Vegas is coming off a 4-3 defeat at Pittsburgh and has dropped three of its last four games. The Golden Knights held a 2-0 advantage after the first period and led 3-2 early in the third period.
“Down 2-0, they’re having an uneven year. They’re going to come and have a push,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s been acknowledged, but we have some veteran guys in the room that have to say, ‘Hey, it’s coming. So make sure we’re ready.'”
Jack Eichel and Reilly Smith scored the first-period goals. Eichel leads the Golden Knights with 12 goals and Smith is right behind him with 11.
“They were quicker than us (Thursday),” Smith said. “It’s a little bit of a wakeup call. We’ve got to do a better job just upping the tempo, especially when you play a team like Pittsburgh.”
The Golden Knights are in the midst of a four-game road trip. They’ll complete the journey in Boston on Monday.
Detroit and Vegas split their two meetings last season with each winning by a 5-2 score.
–Field Level Media
