RECAP: Red Wings get their looks, but can't capitalize on enough of them in 4-2 loss to Bruins

DETROIT -- Coming up just short in a high-stakes Original Six and Atlantic Division matchup they really wanted to have, the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Boston Bruins, 4-2, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

“I liked our game,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight. I think if we play that game over again and get a little puck luck around the net, we score a few more. Obviously, we don’t want to give up three.”

Netminder John Gibson made 23 saves for Detroit (38-24-8; 84 points), which stayed in the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot. Meanwhile, goaltender Jeremy Swayman stopped 41 shots to help Boston (39-23-8; 86 points) improve its hold on the first Wild-Card spot.

“We’re in a great spot to fight our own battles, and I think that has to be the message,” Moritz Seider said. “Last couple years, we were waiting for help. And now, it’s all in our hands. We have enough games left to force our luck, so I think it’s a great opportunity and challenge for us. Obviously disappointing, but I think if we show that effort and intensity again, we’ll be in good shape.”

Although scoreless, the first period still included several notable moments. Both teams hit the post within the first four minutes – Alex DeBrincat watched his shot ring off some iron on a 2-on-1 rush at 1:33 then Elias Lindholm hit the inside of the post at 3:46 while Boston was on the night’s first power play -- and Gibson made a huge glove save on Fraser Minten to halt a short-handed scoring chance at 17:05. Detroit came close in the frame’s final seconds, as J.T. Compher located a rebound, but the puck was an inch away from crossing the goal line before time expired.

“It is what it is,” Raymond said of Compher’s almost-goal. “You can’t dwell on that and be down about that. We got a new look to start the second period and then, obviously, got one.”

An interference penalty on Hampus Lindholm gave the Red Wings another power play early in the middle frame, and Raymond was all by himself in the left face-off circle when he one-timed Andrew Copp’s pass into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead at 3:35. Patrick Kane recorded the secondary assist on Raymond’s 22nd goal of the campaign.

“Obviously, I know what my role is on this team and shots have been a thing that we talk about a lot,” said Raymond, who has a team-high 24 power-play points this season. “It creates so much off it, not just for me but the entire team. I think myself and the team did a better job of it tonight.”

But just 1:32 later, David Pastrnak netted a 5-on-3 power-play goal off a feed from Charlie McAvoy, who recently teamed up with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin to design one-of-a-kind mismatched socks in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, to tie it 1-1.

In the third period, DeBrincat notched his team-leading 35th goal of the season when he ripped a wrist shot over Swaymans glove from the top of the left face-off circle. That tally, which was assisted by Seider and restored Detroit’s lead to 2-1 at 4:06, not only saw DeBrincat become the first Detroit skater to score at least 35 goals through their first 70 games of a season since Marian Hossa (37 in 2008-09) but also stretched his point streak to six straight contests.

That one-goal advantage was as much as the Red Wings could go ahead by, however, as Elias Lindholm used a wrist shot to beat Gibson at 6:22 and Nikita Zadorov followed suit at 9:42 before Marat Khusnutdinov potted an empty-netter at 18:08 to finish the night off.

“We had great opportunities,” Seider said. “Got to give a shoutout to [Swayman]. I think he played really, really well and made it really tough on us. Even when we had a screen in front of him,  he always found a way to make sure he secured them and didn’t allow rebounds. Overall, I think it was a really fun game to watch, obviously, with a frustrating and disappointing end on our side.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will conclude its four-game homestand when the Ottawa Senators come to Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.

WHAT WAS SAID 

McLellan on the spot in the standings his club finds itself in

"Everybody is paying attention right now and nobody loses, which is a real indicator that you better take care of your own work and not count on anybody on any given night from now until the end of the season."

Raymond on leading by one goal in the third period but ending up wiht zero points

“Obviously, we want to come out of that game with two points first of all, and at least one…I thought in the second period, we dominated them. We were the better team. We could’ve put them away right there and then kind of closed it down in the third, but it’s a valuable lesson. It’s tight games, but I think everyone in this locker room enjoys them. We’re looking forward to the rest of them.”

Raymond on Swayman

“He’s a good goalie. We knew that. We knew that we were going to have a higher shot volume, and I think we did tonight. Had a ton of looks, just got to put it in.”