RECAP: Detroit puts forth strong road effort in 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Needing more than 60 minutes to let the dust fully settle for the third consecutive game, the Detroit Red Wings saw their three-game winning streak come to an end but pushed their point streak to four with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday night.

“You hope when you get it to overtime that it goes your way, and it has gone our way quite a bit,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “But leaving here with circumstances and looking at it as a whole, we’ll take the point, get some rest, try to heal up tomorrow and get ready for another tough one.”

Goaltender Cam Talbot made some timely saves against his former club, stopping 35 shots to help Detroit (31-16-5; 67 points) reclaim first place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, goalie Filip Gustavsson finished with 31 saves for Minnesota (29-14-9; 67 points).

“We took it to them,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “That’s a good hockey team over there. Circumstances given, with travel and all that, I thought we were ready to play and Talbs was unbelievable for us. Just the net play and bounces – it was like a playoff game. Maybe three or four nights in a row where it’s felt like a playoff game…I thought we did a god job to get a point, could’ve got two for sure.”

Lucas Raymond’s first goal of the night and 16th of the campaign -- an absolute rocket of a wrist shot he launched past Gustavsson from the middle of the right face-off circle on the power play -- staked the Red Wings to a 1-0 lead at 4:39 of the first period. The assists went to Moritz Seider and Larkin.

“I thought we had the start we needed to have on the road,” McLellan said. “Again, with the circumstances – late game [in Toronto on Wednesday], getting in late and all that type of stuff – you’re always worried about that first 10-minute game and then settle in for the last 15 minutes. Scoring on the power play was important.”

But on their own man advantage later in the opening frame, the Wild returned the favor when Kirill Kaprizov snuck Matz Zuccarello’s no-look pass through Talbot’s five-hole for his first goal of the game to tie it 1-1 at 17:19.

Detroit scored the lone goal of the second period at 16:22. Marco Kasper deflected Marcus Johansson’s clearing attempt and found Raymond all by himself in the slot, where he snapped it behind Gustavsson with ease to make it 2-1 at 16:22.

Through 50 games this season, Raymond continues to lead the Red Wings in both assists (39) and points (56).

“Every year and offseason, you try to take steps towards being a better player,” said Raymond, who also recorded his second multi-goal game and 15th multi-point outing of the season. “And for me, it’s no different. It’s about being curious and wanting to work on your craft to hopefully see your results. I’m just trying to play my game and keep developing.”

Only 37 seconds into the third period, Zuccarello backhanded the rebound of Quinn Hughes’ shot after Cam Talbot made the initial stop to tie the game at 2-2.

“Disappointed in that first shift or two in the third,” McLellan said. “I thought we could’ve handled that better.”

James van Riemsdyk restored Detroit’s one-goal lead at 5:36 of the third period, redirecting Emmitt Finnie’s pass for his 14th of the season to make it 3-2. Travis Hamonic, playing his first game since Dec. 21, was credited with the secondary assist.

"We got right back to it and went ahead again," Larkin said. "In my eyes, we got skating five minutes into the third and changed that period. That's mental toughness, responding after it not going your way coming out of the intermission."

Zuccarello cleaned up another rebound 35 seconds later to tie it 3-3, ultimately forcing things into extra time. And securing the extra point for the Wild, Kaprizov wristed in a shot from the slot 45 seconds into overtime for his second goal of the game.

“I think we did some really good stuff tonight,” Raymond said. “We’ll take one point and move on.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will finish off their three-game road trip when they visit the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday night.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on Simon Edvinsson, who was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury

""He was questionable leaving Toronto last night. We thought we might be able to get him get him through another another game, but having tomorrow off will certainly help."

Larkin on the importance of getting a point given the tight standings

"Everyone plays back-to-backs and has a tough schedule. Not only getting a point, but I think we play like that more often than not and we're going to get two. That's a good sign against a good team."

Raymond on picking up a point, all things considered, on Thursday

“Back-to-backs can always be a little tricky. I think we really had our legs and played a really good hockey game. I think we should have come away with two, that was for sure the goal, but back-to-back…Talbs played unbelievable, so we’ll take one point.”