RECAP: Red Wings score first, but ultimately fall 3-2 at Blues

ST. LOUIS – Despite being the first one to find the of the net in the second stop of their four-game road trip, the Detroit Red Wings ultimately saw their losing streak reach four straight with a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday night.

“This was a complete opposite of the game that we played in Detroit 10 days ago, where we were the dominant team for the first half of the game and then they took it over,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We had a chance to come back, or at least tie it at two, but three makes it pretty tough.”

Goalie John Gibson, who missed the past two contests with a lower-body injury, finished with 30 saves for Detroit (7-9-3; 17 points). As for netminder Joel Hofer, he stopped 30 shots to help St. Louis (8-8-2; 18 points) snap a three-game skid.

“We made a couple lapses, cost us the game,” Alex DeBrincat said. “But I think overall, we got to be better creating stuff in the first two periods. Waited too long to get anything going and yeah, it’s tough to come back in this League.”

A nice paddle save by Gibson — the 33-year-old stopped all 10 shots he faced in the first period — on Jonatan Berggren at the doorstep with 2:57 left paved the way for the Red Wings to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, as Andrew Copp redirected Ben Chiarot’s shot from the left point past Hofer just 2:44 later. Lucas Raymond also assisted on Copp’s third goal of the season.

“They came out pretty hot,” Emmitt Finnie said. “I don’t think we found our game until that goal, and then I think we let off a bit in the second.”

The Blues flipped the score in a hurry early in that middle frame, scoring twice over the course of 1:57 before the three-minute mark to jump ahead 2-1. Pius Suter started it just 37 seconds in on a snap shot off Alexey Torpochenko’s behind-the-goal-line pass, then Justin Barron squeaked one in from the middle of the right face-off circle.

“First shift of the second period, both fourth lines are on the ice, and we lose a board battle,” McLellan said. “The puck pops out and we end up above it. All of a sudden, you’ve got a little 3-on-2, so that’s the first one. And bang, the second one comes right away, so that puts a team on its heels.”

Andreas Englund looked to inject some energy into his club, and so the 30-year-old blueliner dropped the gloves with Ross Johnston in front of Detroit’s bench with 8:14 remaining before the second intermission.

Jimmy Snuggerud gave St. Louis some important insurance by grabbing the rebound of Dylan Holloway’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle and putting it into the back of the net to send the hosts in front 3-1 at 15:58 of the third period.

With Gibson pulled for an extra skater, Seider scored his first goal of the season off a no-look pass from Raymond to make it 3-2 at 18:46 of the final frame. A secondary assist on what ended up being the game’s fifth and final tally was credited to Copp.

Detroit did outshoot St. Louis by a 20-8 margin in the third period, marking the first time the Original Six franchise recorded at least 20 shots in a single frame since racking up 23 in the third against the Boston Bruins on March 21, 2026.

“The resilience showed up, I guess,” McLellan said. “We scrapped a way back into a game and had a chance to pull the goalie at the end. But obviously, when you give up three and you’re only getting one or two a night, you’re not going to win or you’re not getting points.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings return to the Sunshine State and will take on Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on offensive confidence

“An offense isn’t about one player. It’s always at least two players. There’s somebody that has to give you some support. You have to feel confident that you’re able to make the play. And then you involve another linemate or a teammate…In the third period, we beat the forecheck, held onto the puck, got an entry established and played in the O-zone for a while. That’s offensive confidence, and you don’t lose it. You maintain it, and we have to get to it and maintain it.”

McLellan on what he saw in terms of quality chances and zone time for his group

“Zero in the first period, a little bit better in the second and a lot in the third.”

DeBrincat on the club’s offense as of late

“I think we just have to keep working hard. It doesn’t come easy. We got to get around the net more and I think overall, we’re trying to create our chances. It’s tough to create that confidence, so we got to find a way to be confident in ourselves, make the play and put it in the back of the net.”

Finnie on finding some more offense

“I just got to have more time in the O-zone. We’re not shooting it and getting enough back. We saw a little bit of it in the third there. We had some good offense, which led to some chances, so we just need more of that.”