RECAP: Raymond scores twice in Red Wings’ 6-3 loss at Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- The Detroit Red Wings couldn’t rally from a two-goal first-period deficit on Sunday evening, ultimately falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, at PPG Paints Arena.

Goalie Alex Lyon made 32 saves for the Red Wings (34-28-6; 74 points), who moved to 5-4-0 in the second half of back-to-backs on the season. Netminder Alex Nedeljkovic, who played in Detroit from 2021-23, stopped 24 shots for the Penguins (30-28-9; 69 points).

"We just didn’t have legs tonight," Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told Bally Sports Detroit's Trevor Thompson after Sunday's game. "It showed. I think we had some moments where we had some jump and some effort, but not consistent enough on the road against a team like that.”

Entering Monday, the Red Wings hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a one-point lead over the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, who have 73 points apiece. The Tampa Bay Lightning (78 points) occupy the first wild-card spot.

The puck bounced Pittsburgh’s way at 10:10 of the first period. After Marcus Pettersson’s shot went off Moritz Seider in the left face-off circle, it deflected off Reilly Smith’s right leg before trickling in over the goal line to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings tied it 1-1 at 15:39 of the first period off a laser from Lucas Raymond, who buried a wrister from the left face-off circle for his first goal of the night. Assisted by David Perron and Ben Chiarot, Raymond extended his goal streak to four straight games.

Sidney Crosby snapped an 11-game scoreless drought at 18:53 of the first period when he cleaned up a rebound with a backhander, putting the Penguins back in front 2-1. Just 23 seconds later, Valtteri Puustinen finished a behind-the-goal-line pass from Smith to extend it to 3-1.

Pittsburgh outshot Detroit 15-4 in the first period and 38-28 overall.

“We actually had a couple really good first shifts," Lalonde said. "We go in the (penalty) box, and now it’s a little bit of getting pucks to the net and they get some looks on the power play. We had some turnovers early on. We just didn’t sustain enough zone time, so again it’s just a little too much volume on (Lyon). He made some saves early on for us, gave us a chance.”

Michael Bunting, who was traded to the Penguins from the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, pushed it to 4-1 at 9:34 of the second period when he knocked in a rebound at the doorstep while falling to the ice.

With the Red Wings putting a lot of pucks on net late in the second period, Christian Fischer trimmed it to 4-2 at 17:35 with a one-timer from the slot. Michael Rasmussen and Jeff Petry picked up the assists on Fischer’s fourth goal of the season, and second in as many games.

Lars Eller restored Pittsburgh’s three-goal lead with a power-play tally at 19:39 of the second period, redirecting Crosby’s point shot to make it 5-2.

“We get our way back into the game, we fight back," Lalonde said. "We get to 4-2, you kind of feel some momentum and we take a penalty again. Unfortunately, it goes in the back of the net and it ends up being 5-2. I think we could have managed our game much better. It’s just again, that first period got away from us because we hand delivered those four minutes on the power play.”

With Detroit on a power play and after pulling Lyon for an extra attacker, Raymond gave Detroit late life with his second goal of the game at 16:37 of the third period to narrow the gap to 5-3. Raymond, who was assisted by Patrick Kane and Shayne Gostisbehere, scored a one-timer from the slot for his 22nd goal of the season.

Through 68 games this season, Raymond has matched an NHL career high with 57 points (22 goals, 33 assists).

The Penguins’ Drew O’Connor scored an empty-netter with 26 seconds remaining in the final frame for the 6-3 final.

“We had enough chances, that’s for sure,” Andrew Copp said. “A bunch of 2-on-1s, 3-on-1s, especially early. Those are going to go in sometimes and not going to go in. We can talk about the execution of that, but it’s about heart, compete and effort. I don’t think we just did a good job of that tonight.”

Lalonde said the Red Wings will use Monday's off day and Tuesday's morning skate to focus on playing like they did during Saturday's 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

"It’s still going to be about our end," Lalonde said. "Defensively, we got to be smarter in our zone. We got to compete in our zone. We got to spend less time in our zone. It starts with some puck play. It starts with some D-zone coverage. I think this is a group that can do some good things in the O-zone, we got to get that there. And we do that by getting pucks north, getting them quick and playing off a forecheck.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will open a quick two-game homestand on Tuesday night, first facing the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena.