Henrique’s goal isn’t quite enough
They even blow an empty-net chance; Henrique scores late in third period.
DETROIT 2, DUCKS 1
Forward scores in the third period but Ducks blow several chances.
DETROIT 2 DUCKS 1
DETROIT — Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen scored in the first two periods and the Detroit Red Wings held off the Ducks 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks with 3 minutes 54 seconds to play, and they took goaltender John Gibson off the ice with a minute remaining in regulation to have an extra skater, but couldn’t score to extend the game.
The Ducks had a 16-5 advantage in shots in the first period but fell behind 1-0 when Larkin scored off Kevin Bieksa’s giveaway in front of the net with 6:28 to play in the period.
Nielsen scored late in the second period even though the Red Wings were held to single digits in shots.
“We had two turnovers that ended up in our net,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “That’s what the game is like when teams are going for the playoffs.”
The Red Wings are trying to rally into a wild-card spot in the playoff race before the NHL trade deadline Feb. 26.
“It’s desperation,” Larkin said. “We know our situation and what has to be done.”
The Red Wings went off the ice with a sense of relief after blowing third-period goals in recent games.
“We hit that crossbar and then they score right after, you do think for a second, ‘Oh, is it one of those again?’ ” Nielsen said
The Ducks generated several scoring chances and had two potential goals waved off after video reviews.
“We played well early,” center Ryan Getzlaf said. “But we had those two goals called back that we thought could have counted, especially the first one, and we missed an empty net. That took something out of us.”
The Ducks have lost five of seven games.
“The last week or so has been frustrating because we aren’t competing at the level we need to compete,” Getzlaf said. “We have to push for the playoffs right now. We can’t wait. At this time of the year, everyone plays hard.”
The Ducks recalled defenseman Marcus Pettersson from the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League but he was scratched for the game.