The Detroit Red Wings showed plenty of fight Tuesday night but unfortunately, they didn't have the finish. Jack Hughes scored 1:19 into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 5-4 victory over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, handing Detroit another disappointing result in the early stages of the season.
For the Red Wings, it was a game filled with encouraging offensive performance, frustrating defensive breakdowns and another missed opportunity to collect two points. The Red Wings entered Tuesday having scored just 10 goals through their first five games. They nearly matched half that total against the Devils and it still wasn't enough.
How Red Wings Lost to Devils
Evan Rodrigues opened the scoring for the Devils at 6:07 of the first period, but the Red Wings responded before intermission as Emmitt Finnie scored at 18:35, with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Anton Johansson collecting assists. The goal gave the Red Wings some momentum heading into the second period and they wasted little time capitalizing.
Brandsegg-Nygard scored just 1:43 into the second, putting the Red Wings ahead 2-1 and giving the young forward his first goal of the season. Finnie and Alex DeBrincat assisted on the goal. For a team searching for additional offensive contributions, the performances of Finnie and Brandsegg-Nygard provided an encouraging development. But the lead didn't last.
Former Red Wing Anthony Mantha tied the game at 7:03 before Devils captain Nico Hischier scored on the power play at 10:16. Suddenly, the Red Wings were trailing again. DeBrincat answered at 15:10, tying the game 3-3 with assists from Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Justin Faulk.
But the Devils regained the advantage less than two minutes later when Jesper Bratt scored at 16:52. Four goals against through 40 minutes is not exactly the defensive performance the Red Wings were looking for. Still, they refused to disappear.
DeBrincat scored his second goal of the evening at 5:46 of the third period, pulling the Red Wings even at four. The goal gave the Red Wings an opportunity to complete the comeback and secure a much needed victory. Instead, the game headed to overtime and that's where Hughes delivered the final blow. His winner ended a contest in which the Red Wings repeatedly demonstrated an ability to respond offensively but couldn't consistently keep the Devils off the scoreboard.
There are positives the Red Wings can take from the loss. DeBrincat's two-goal performance was a welcome contribution from one of the team's established scorers while Finnie and Brandsegg-Nygard showed that the organization's younger players can contribute offensively at the NHL level. The Red Wings showed they were capable of battling back against adversity, but moral victories won't move them up in the standings. Scoring four goals should provide an excellent opportunity to win, and instead they surrendered five. The Red Wings found their offense and now they need to find a way to make it count.
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