1. Starts were an issue for Minnesota.
In all three periods on Saturday, the Wild allowed a goal to the Red Wings in the first minute of the frame.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored 24 seconds into the game on a deflection of a Gustav Nyquist shot from the point.
After the Wild got on the board 17 seconds into the second period, Detroit sapped all the momentum on a Thomas Vanek goal at the 45-second mark.
Then in the third, it was Bertuzzi again, this time 47 seconds into the period.
The loss was especially frustrating for the Wild considering Detroit was playing for the second time in as many nights following a 4-2 loss in Winnipeg on Friday.
Minnesota will attempt to regroup Monday in Philadelphia when it begins a back-to-back set of its own.
2. Nino Niederreiter snapped a lengthy goal drought.
It seems like the Wild is doing one of these every game now. One game after Jason Zucker found the back of the net twice, doubling his goal output from the previous 14 games combined, Niederreiter snapped a 12-game goal drought of his own just 17 seconds into the second period.
The goal was Niederreiter's eighth of the season and came via the power play following a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play by Zucker and Mikko Koivu.
It gave the Wild a brief lead -- its first of the night -- but it didn't last long. Vanek scored his first of two second-period goals just 28 seconds later.
3. Luke Kunin tallied his first goal of the season on a beauty of a shot.
After a sluggish start to the contest, Kunin drew the Wild even 17 minutes into the first period following a turnover by Detroit's Niklas Kronwall in his own zone.
The puck bounced over Kronwall's stick and right to Kunin, who cruised to the top of the right circle. Just as Wild.com's Ryan Carter said, "He needs this," Kunin whistled a shot by goaltender Jimmy Howard for his first goal since Oct. 31, 2017 against the Winnipeg Jets.
