ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Detroit Red Wings scored first, performed well on special teams, but a giveaway in overtime cost them a point and extended their losing streak to four games.
After a tough start to their first extended trip, the Wings came away with a point after blowing a late lead and losing, 3-2, to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
Ryan Strome scored after Tyler Bertuzzi turned the puck over behind his own goal line, marring what had been overall a good performance from the Wings.
Jonatan Berggren’s first NHL goal was the first time since Nov. 5 that the Wings scored first in a game. Michael Rasmussen added a goal with 34.3 seconds to play in the second period. Ville Husso had made 27 saves when John Klingberg scored with 46.2 seconds left in regulation.
The Wings (7–6–3) continue the trip Thursday at the San Jose Sharks and wrap it up Saturday at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Berggren delivers
From his first shift in his NHL debut three games ago, Berggren has been consistent in showing he makes the Wings better. He put them up by a goal just before the halfway point of the first period Tuesday, taking a pass from Filip Hronek and flinging the puck behind John Gibson from just outside the crease, near the goal line. Berggren, a second-round pick from 2018, picked up an assist in his first game, when he set up Joe Veleno. At L.A., it was Berggren who drew the penalty that led to a power play goal that got the Wings into the game. Berggren was called up to ameliorate the loss of multiple skilled forwards, but even as Bertuzzi, for one, returned, Berggren has stayed in the lineup.
Penalty killers tested
Husso robbed Mason McTavish on what was a golden chance from the right circle while Oskar Sundqvist was in the penalty box for cross checking (earlier that shift, Sundqvist had a great chance to put the Wings up by two), but McTavish was quick with a shot from the slot when he got another chance. The penalty killers did better when Rasmussen was called for tripping early in the second period, getting in lanes and blocking shots so that Husso only had to make one save. The PK group was really tested midway through the third period when Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond took penalties, setting up a 59-second two-man advantage for the Ducks. Dylan Larkin, Ben Chiarot and Filip Hronek did so good a job Husso didn’t even have to make a save. Raymond went to the box again a few minutes later, when he used his stick to slow Jakob Silfverberg and ended up losing the stick when Silfverberg, trying to clear the puck, ended up sending Raymond’s stick over the glass and into the stands.
Sky high
Sundqvist and Rasmussen (Elmer Söderblom, the third member of the Skyline, is nursing an undisclosed injury, amended for their penalties by putting the Wings up by a goal in the last minute of the second period. It started with Sundqvist winning a faceoff against Max Jones in the right circle in Anaheim’s zone and getting the puck to David Perron. Perron found Rasmussen, who strode around the back of the net, out front and scored his second goal of the season.
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 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.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings lose lead late, puck in OT for 3-2 loss to Ducks
