It was another game in which the Detroit Red Wings were in it but couldn’t find a way to win.
They dropped their third game against the Ottawa Senators in three tries Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena, falling 4-1 in a game marked by two empty-net goals.
Thomas Greiss made 28 saves. He was pulled with 90 seconds to play for an extra attacker, and Tim Stützle capitalized by scoring twice. Since ending a six-game losing streak last week, the Wings (28-35-10) have lost in overtime to Columbus, and to the Senators.
Tyler Bertuzzi contributed his 27th goal, on a power play. The Wings went on a power play again with 6:20 to play in regulation, but that was negated after three seconds when Sam Gagner was called for interference.
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The Senators got big games, again, from Oxford’s Josh Norris (five points in three games against the Wings) and Mathieu Joseph (eight points in three games).
The Wings next play Thursday at Carolina. The play their second-to-last home game Sunday, against the Florida Panthers.
Seconds to spare
Greiss had a good first period, making a clutch save on Norris during a power play. (Norris had a hat trick when the Wings visited Ottawa on April 3.) Midway through the period, Greiss stopped Austin Watson (Ann Arbor) on a wrist shot, and twice denied Dylan Gambrell. The Wings built a touch of momentum when they had a power play with 4:10 to play, at which point the shots were 13-7 to Ottawa. The Senators didn’t get a shot on net again until the final minute, but they made it count. Norris came up the left side and sent the puck to Norris, who Bertuzzi didn’t try to check until it was too late. Watson gave the Senators the lead with 4.3 seconds left on the clock.
Powering up
The Wings went on their third power play, at 11:16 of the second period, when Mitchell Stephens drew a penalty from Nikita Zaitsev. Moritz Seider fired a shot that went wide, and the puck bounced off the end boards and out to the right side, where Bertuzzi hovered near the post. Bertuzzi redirected the puck on net. Seider picked up his 41st assist, and fellow rookie Lucas Raymond picked up his 33rd assist.
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Rip and tip
The momentum built with Bertuzzi’s goal didn’t last but three minutes. Michael Del Zotto took a pass from Stützle (drafted No. 3 by the Sens in 2020, one spot ahead of Raymond) and fed the puck to Del Zotto at the left point, who ripped the puck towards the net. Drake Batherson got his stick on it for the tip and a 2-1 lead, at 15:32.
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.