DETROIT -- Missing out on a chance to make up some ground in the Eastern Conference’s Wild-Card race and unfortunately seeing the next-closest team in the standings narrow the gap between them, the Detroit Red Wings took a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.
“Disappointed in that performance,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re not getting tricked either by the three goals at the end of the night that made it close. That was a disappointing response after a big win for us in Buffalo, so I think there’s more in a lot of guys. I think some guys came to compete, but not think at all. The stuff we did is Training Camp material, and here we are at Game 72, so I’m disappointed.”
Goalies John Gibson, who was relieved in the third period, and Cam Talbot combined to make 21 saves for Detroit (39-26-8; 86 points). Between the pipes for Philadelphia (36-24-12; 84 points), netminder Dan Vladar stopped 32 of 35 shots.
"It’s tough when you’re going to go down 4-0,” Alex DeBrincat said. “It’s tough to come back from that. I don’t think we were good today by any means. A good push at the end, but we got to start playing way earlier than that. Just didn’t think we started the game very well.”
Philadelphia sent its first shot of the night into the back of the net, capitalizing on a Detroit turnover in the neutral zone -- Owen Tippett was sprung on a breakaway by Trevor Zegras and wristed a shot through Gibson – to take a 1-0 lead at 4:07 of the opening frame. Captain Dylan Larkin, skating in his 800th career NHL game, nearly tied it with a little less than five minutes to go before the first intermission but his look from above the left face-off circle rang off the crossbar.
“I thought the first goal killed us because it was something that didn’t have to happen,” McLellan said. “It was a big part of our pre-scout and our presentation to the players prior to going out. Right there, as that happens, now we start to get into, ‘Okay, well, what kind of night’s this going to be?’”
Tippett’s second goal of the night came at 12:28 of the second period and pushed the Flyers ahead 2-0, then Noah Cates shoved the puck home on a power play just 3:46 later to extend their lead to 3-0.
"Today was the little details that we missed on," DeBrincat acknowledged. "Gave up way too many 2-on-1's, breakaways, odd-man rushes and they capitalized on it. It's frustrating. At this time of the season, you can't have games like that."
At 18:36 of the second period, Moritz Seider’s power-play tally was waved off after Philadelphia successfully challenged for offside.
“We had a lot of looks throughout the game and it didn’t go in,” Lucas Raymond said. “Obviously, the disallowed on the power play would’ve given us a lot of momentum coming into the third period, but we got to find ways.”
After Christian Dvorak’s goal was overturned for offside just 42 seconds into the third period, Tippett completed his hat trick with a man-advantage marker to stretch it to 4-0 at 7:19.
Breaking up Vladar’s shutout bid, Mason Appleton grabbed Justin Faulk’s long-range bank pass and buried a snap shot from the left face-off circle to make it 4-1 at 13:43 of the third period. It marked Appleton’s first goal since Dec. 31.
