RECAP: Red Wings fall to Hurricanes, 2-1

DETROIT – Michael Rasmussen scored his seventh goal of the season, but the Detroit Red Wings couldn't net the late equalizer in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Making his 16th start of the season, goalie Ville Husso stopped 37-of-39 shots and kept the Red Wings (15-10-4; 34 points) in the game despite the loss. With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 16-12-1 (33 points) overall.

“Obviously we were undermanned,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “We had some tired legs. Saw a little of it probably throughout the second, but I thought end of the second on, we had a great push. We certainly gave ourselves a chance.”

The Red Wings killed off a Hurricanes power play early in the first period before surrendering the game-opening goal at 4:48 to fall behind, 1-0.

Making it a 1-1 game for Detroit at 5:20 of the second period, Rasmussen took a cross-ice pass from Andrew Copp and ripped a shot from the right face-off circle past Canes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov to earn his 100th career NHL point. Jonatan Berggren also collected an assist on Rasmussen’s goal, extending his point streak to three straight games.

“It was cool,” Rasmussen said of his goal. “I actually wasn’t fully aware it was my 100th point.”

Carolina took what proved to be a deciding 2-1 lead at 11:49, capitalizing on an unexpected bounce off the boards and a misplay from Husso.

“Ville was excellent,” Lalonde said. “It’s frustrating because (Thursday was) his best game in a while. The miscue reflects our overall game a little bit, where we have to be good all the time. It’s unfortunate.”

Finishing 0-for-3 on the power play, Detroit had opportunities throughout the game but couldn’t get any more goals past Kochetkov.

“They play a unique style,” Rasmussen said of the Hurricanes’ penalty kill. “Kind of try to spread us out and keep us to the outside, so it was a little bit of that. It was a little bit of perimeter just trying to get it inside, but we had some good looks. Some unlucky breaks. It’s a good penalty kill. Just got to learn from it and cash in as much as possible on there because it can make the game.”

NEXT UP: Hitting the road again, the Red Wings will face the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on what makes the Canes a formidable opponent

"They're a tough team. They're very predictable. They flip, chip in and fire everything on net. They turn the game into a bunch of battles. They're big and strong. That's why they're a really, really good team and a tough matchup for us, especially with where we are right now with our lineup."

Rasmussen on Carolina’s strengths

“They’re a really good defensive team. They kind of keep you to the perimeter for the most part, although I thought we did a good job getting pucks through and saving some traffic. They were good on the penalty kill tonight.”

Chiarot on Husso’s night

“I thought he kept us in the game, especially in the first period. Obviously a tough break on the second one, mistakes happen. But he kept us in it, especially early on.”

Chiarot on Detroit’s defensive play on Thursday

“Especially as of late, we’ve been giving up four and five (goals) every night. So to give up two, and for one being kind of a bad break, better defensively. Huss had to make some big saves, especially early on. Better for sure, less odd-mans. I can really only think of one breakaway that they got in the second there.”