SEATTLE — Unable to generate the offense that had led to such success, the Detroit Red Wings‘ longest winning streak of the season came to an end.
They sputtered Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena, thwarted by the Seattle Kraken in a 4-2 loss that ended a five-game streak of celebrations.
Pius Suter scored his ninth goal of the season but the Wings were unable to match the pace that had fed the winning streak, falling flat after averaging five goals over their previous four games. Two of the Wings’ most skilled forwards, Lucas Raymond (lower body injury) and Jakub Vrana (healthy scratch), took in the game from the press box.
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Ville Husso had faced 26 shots when he was pulled with north of three minutes to play for an extra attacker. Dylan Larkin picked up his 22nd goal of the season with 2:21 to play, extending his point streak this month to seven games (seven goals, six assists).
Shine and score
The Wings fell behind with about four minutes to play in the first period. Defenseman Filip Hronek fired a shot on net that Philipp Grubauer turned away. Carson Soucy picked up the puck and fed Jordan Eberle, who raced up ice and fired a shot that hit Husso before sliding into Detroit’s net. A masterful shift by Suter’s line yielded a tie score with 16 seconds left in the period. Suter withstood multiple defenders to hang onto the puck and feed Filip Zadina, whose shot was blocked. Jake Walman gave it a try from the high slot, and Suter connected on the rebound to earn his third goal in four games.
Secondary problems
The Wings fell behind again in the second period; it was Eberle, again, with the goal. Ex-Wolverine Matty Beniers carried the puck towards the net before passing to Eberle, who used Ben Chiarot as a screen to make it 2-1. The Wings didn’t help themselves when they went on a power play midway through the period. Neither unit was able to generate any looks or build momentum. They were poised to play four minutes with a man advantage when Vince Dunn was called for high-sticking Michael Rasmussen, but David Perron was called for grabbing Adam Larsson’s stick six seconds into that power play, and Jamie Oleksiak scored during four-on-four play to put the Kraken up 3-1 in the final minute of the second period.
Overpowered
The Wings didn’t generate much during the man-advantage time from what was left on the Dunn penalty at the start of the third period. What hopes they had of a rally faded when Eeli Tolvanen got to a loose puck by the net and tapped it in before Husso could cover up, putting the Kraken up by three goals with 15 minutes to play .
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.