RECAP: Leonard scores twice for Red Wings in 3-2 preseason road loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH – The Detroit Red Wings dropped their first game of the 2025-26 preseason, coming up short against the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, at PPG Paints Arena on Friday night.

Playing the first half of Friday’s Eastern conference matchup, goalie John Gibson turned aside 13 of 14 shots before netminder prospect Michal Postava took over between the pipes and stopped four of six shots.

The Red Wings grabbed a 1-0 lead at 13:38 of the first period when John Leonard, set up by Alexandre Doucet, raced in on a partial breakaway and sniped a shot past Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.

Leonard’s second goal of the opening frame came on the power play just before the first intermission. After some back-and-forth passing between him, William Wallinder and Nate Danielson at Pittsburgh’s blue line, Leonard drilled a shot through traffic to push Detroit ahead 2-0 at 18:20.

The Penguins kept the Red Wings off the board the rest of the way, scoring three unanswered goals by the time the final horn sounded.

Connor Dewar notched the first of those three tallies when he shoveled home the puck on his backhand to cut Pittsburgh’s deficit to 2-1 at 2:23 of the second period.

Then, at 4:46 of the third period, former Red Wing Robby Fabbri’s wrister made it a 2-2 game. The eventual game-winning goal came from Phil Tomasino, who one-timed a shot in the slot on the power play just 2:14 after Fabbri knotted things up.

NEXT UP: Detroit will play its third preseason game in as many days when it drops the puck against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday afternoon.