Islanders Damage Red Wings Playoff Hopes With 4-1 win

The Detroit Red Wings have done an impressive job of holding third period leads this season. Going into Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders, the Red Wings were 19-0-2 when leading after two periods.

That’s why it had to be particularly disheartening for the Red Wings to surrender a 1-0 lead in the third period and fall 4-1 to the Islanders in a game that was critical to the Red Wings’ playoff hopes.

Detroit has now lost now five games in a row, and is six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and seven behind the Islanders in the Eastern Conference wild card race. The Red Wings still have three games in hand against the Islanders. But they are running out of runway.

Goals 2:28 minutes apart by Zach Parise and Anders Lee against goalie Magnus Hellberg allowed the Islanders to erase the Detroit lead. New York defenseman Noah Dobson provided insurance with a power play goal later in the third.  Lee scored his second of game late in the third. It was his fifth two-goal game of the season.

Hellberg was playing because Detroit starter Ville Husso is out with a minor injury. Alex Nedeljkovic was called up up from the Grand Rapids Griffins to be the backup. NHL veteran Alex Chiasson also made his debut with the Detroit.

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It hasn’t yet been determined whether Husso will be ready for Detroit’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow in Philadelphia.

The Red Wings had taken the 1-0 lead against the Islander on a power play goal by Dylan Larkin in the second period. Halfway through the second period, the Islanders were outshooting Detroit 25-7.