RECAP: Unable to rally on the road, Red Wings drop 5-2 decision to Ducks

ANAHEIM – On a night when John Gibson was recognized by his former squad with a special tribute video, the Detroit Red Wings unfortunately saw their three-game winning streak end with a 5-2 setback to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Friday.

“We got to come up with a better game plan, especially for such a meaningful game, first and foremost, for Gibby,” Moritz Seider said. “Unacceptable to let him hang in there a couple times, then obviously frustration takes over and you kind of get away from your game a little bit.”

Gibson made 27 saves for Detroit (8-4-0; 16 points), which went 4-for-6 on the penalty kill but just 1-for-7 on the power play. Meanwhile, recording 28 saves for Anaheim (6-3-1; 13 points) was netminder Lukas Dostal.

“This is going to sound strange, but I thought our bodies wanted to go but our brains didn’t,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “At the end of the night, that probably cost us. Some of our problems in the past reared their heads again in the first period – a few outnumbered rushes on real poor decisions, including the power play. Then suddenly, you’re chasing the game. That’s tough to do when you’re on the road and you’re playing back-to-back, but I still think we gave ourselves a chance. The power play didn’t get us what we needed it to and we couldn’t get the kill at the end, so special teams probably sealed it for them.”

Troy Terry’s short-handed goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 4:53 of the first period, when the 28-year-old forward sped down the ice after receiving a feed from Drew Helleson and used a wrist shot to beat Gibson.

But, like they did against the Los Angeles Kings the night prior, the Red Wings delivered a strong response. From deep in their defensive zone, Alex DeBrincat sent a pass up the ice to Dylan Larkin, and Detroit’s captain quickly scanned the ice before finding Lucas Raymond all by himself at Anaheim’s blue line. Raymond skated in then beat Dostal five-hole for his third goal of the season, which made it 1-1 at 8:19 of the first period.

“There’s been some poor and good starts,” McLellan said. “It’s all over the map right now. The start in L.A. last night, sometimes you get out here and you need to get skating. I’ve seen it. I’ve been out here for so long, back-to-back, you got to get your legs again. While you’re doing that, you have to play smart hockey. I don’t think we did that tonight in any case.”

That 1-1 score lasted only 4:05 though, as Leo Carlsson finished off a cross-slot pass from Terry on the rush to get the Ducks back in front 2-1. Carlsson’s goal capped the scoring in the opening frame, which also saw the Red Wings trail 12-6 in shots.

Seider had a goal called back 4:55 into the second period following a coach’s challenge when it was determined he used a kicking motion to clean up a rebound. That prevented Detroit from grabbing any momentum, and then Anaheim extended its lead just 1:40 later when Mason McTavish buried one from the right face-off circle to make it 3-1.

The Red Wings went on the power play with 4:43 remaining in the second period and capitalized just eight seconds in. It started with Raymond, who gathered Seider’s pass from off the boards and found Alex DeBrincat all alone in front of the crease. Showcasing some quick stickhandling, DeBrincat turned and notched his fourth goal in as many contests, bringing Detroit to 3-2.

This hot stretch marks DeBrincat's longest goal streak while donning the Winged Wheel. The last time he posted a four-game goal streak was from March 23-28, 2022, as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Restoring the Ducks’ two-goal lead just 55 seconds into the third period, Chris Kreider backhanded the rebound of Cutter Gauthier’s shot after Gibson made the initial stop for a power-play goal to make it 4-2.

“You want to stay out of the box, but at the same time we had plenty of looks on the power play to get one,” Raymond acknowledged.

Calling game, Terry notched his second goal of the night at 17:28 of the third period -- this one into an empty net -- for the 5-2 final.

“We gave ourselves a lot of trouble out there tonight,” Raymond said. “I think it was, more so, a lot of self-inflicted stuff for us."

When asked to assess the Red Wings now that they've reached the end of the season’s first month, McLellan said they're still “trying to figure things out."

“We’re going to have some good days and some bad stretches,” McLellan said. “We’re going to need practice time. We’re going to need rest. Last time I checked, we’re a team that’s just really trying to work hard to get into the playoffs, so we got a lot of learning lessons…We’re a mixed bag at this point, but we got a lot of opportunity for growth and we’re looking forward to getting better.”

NEXT UP: Following Saturday's scheduled off-day, Detroit will be back in action when it faces the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Sunday night.

WHAT WAS SAID

McLellan on the speed of the game versus the execution

“Tonight, I just think of the first two goals alone – we’re playing in their end. We’re on the power play and all playing on the outside. We make a mistake and they’re gone. The second goal, we’re on our own 3-on-2 but turn it over and we trigger a 3-on-1 the other way. That has nothing to do with pace, speed or slowing anybody down.”

McLellan on Kane’s status

“I don’t have an update there at all. As I said when we left, there was a chance he could join us on the trip. I know he’s not flying in tonight and I’m not sure what’s happening tomorrow.”

Seider on Friday’s game

“I think we got a lot better in the game, but I think the starts are a little bit of an issue right now. We got to address and fix that. We’re a fast team. I think we can outplay them, but we didn’t tonight and it’s frustrating.”