SAN JOSE, Calif. — Moritz Seider said the Detroit Red Wings enjoyed their weeklong reprieve from the colder temperatures back home, taking the opportunity to get out and get some vitamin sea and D.
They wrapped up their three-game trip Tuesday at SAP Center with a 3-2 loss in overtime to the San Jose Sharks, settling for two out of six points. Logan Couture score a minute into the extra time.
:”I thought we did a lot of good things,” defenseman Nick Leddy said. :”This has always been a tough rink. They come hard. We had a pretty good start, then sat back a little bit.
Marc Staal and Robby Fabbri took back-to-back penalties midway through the first period, and the Sharks made them pay. Jonathan Dahlen maneuvered the puck deep in Detroit’s zone and then threaded a cross-slot pass that Timo Meier redirected into an open net. Tyler Bertuzzi replied near the end of the second period. Filip Hronek and Bertuzzi each picked up an assist in setting up Leddy’s go-ahead goal at 1:48 of the third period. Leddy carried the puck up and scored from the top of the circle, but the momentum was short-lived; Jeffrey Viel scored on Alex Nedeljkovic 90 seconds later.
“I thought we were taking the game to them early,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We gave up a 2-on-1 six or seven minutes into the period, and from there we didn’t play nearly as good. I just thought a whole bunch of individual players didn’t seem to have lots of gas. Didn’t have lots of energy. We didn’t seem to be very strong on the puck. We were fortunate to get a point.”
Credit that point to Nedeljkovic, who made 37 saves.
“He gave us a chance to steal one for sure,” Blashill said.
Seeking to ameliorate the turnaround of crossing three time zones ahead of having a game on the slate Thursday, the Wings were scheduled to fly home Wednesday, one week after arriving in southern California.
“It was nice to get out here, seeing some places, getting in the ocean as a team, too,” Seider said. “It was pretty cool experience.”
Making adjustments
Dylan Larkin watched the game from the press box after sustaining an upper-body injury Sunday. Coach Jeff Blashill described it a short-term injury and hinted Larkin even may be back as soon as Thursday. With Larkin unavailable, Fabbri slotted onto the top line, between Lucas Raymond and Tyler Bertuzzi. Givani Smith got a look on the second line next to Pius Suter and Filip Zadina. Riley Barber came off the taxi squad and made his second appearance of season, on a line with Joe Veleno and Sam Gagner. Barber sustained a lower-body injury and only played 53 seconds.
Making friends
Smith played two minutes and change in the first game against the Sharks, making quite an impression as he fought Jacob Middleton on the first shift and, on the second, hit Middleton right in the numbers, earning a boarding penalty and a game misconduct. Smith, who also fought Sunday at Anaheim, dropped the gloves again to fight Viel.
Making headway
The Wings need to feel more confident when they’re on a power play and made a bit of inroads when they converted for a second straight game. Granted, both goals were during 5-on-3s, but it’s a start. Bertuzzi picked up his 17th goal of the season when he hovered near the left goal post. Filip Hronek took a pass from Seider and wired a shot that Bertuzzi redirected past Adin Hill with 22 seconds to spare in the second period.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.