Sloppy Second Period Does in Red Wings

On Wednesday, it was a Kane surge that powered the Detroit Red Wings past the Buffalo Sabres. Friday in Carolina, a Canes surge was what did the Wings in.

A five-point outburst from Patrick Kane was the difference in Detroit’s 7-3 win over the Sabres. Three unanswered Carolina Hurricanes second-period goals spelled doom for Detorit in a 4-2 road loss on Friday.

“It’s a little too much of a roller coaster tonight,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin told FanDuel Sports Detroit following the loss. “A lot of what they got in the second, we kind of gave them.”

A Cat snipe for his 31st on the season. 😼 pic.twitter.com/tnydp0wxwW

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 14, 2025

Self-inflicted wounds were certainly the cause of Detroit’s demise. Although the Wings were significantly outplayed in the opening 20 minutes. they entered the second period with a 1-0 lead on Alex DeBrincat’s 31st goal of the season.

“The first, you have to weather the storm here,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “They come out real hard, we got some good saves, I thought we settled in as the period wore on. Scoring certainly helped us.”

The advantage didn’t last long. Taylor Hall made it 1-1 just 22 seconds after the opening faceoff for the second period. Jack Roslovic and Ypsilanti’s Jalen Chatfield would also score to give Carolina a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.

“The second period was unacceptable,” McLellan said. “It wasn’t just Carolina-inflicted, it was self-inflicted. It started with the very first shift, the turnover, they scored and now they got some momentum.

“Some line changes, just some really dumb play on our behalf.”

Red Wings Rally But Fall Short

To the Wings’ credit, they did battle back strongly in the third period. Michael Rasmussen narrowed the Carolina edge to 3-2 with his 10th goal of the season. An empty-net goal by Eric Robinson would lock up the sixth win in a row and fifth straight victory on home ice for the Hurricanes.

Ok, Ras! pic.twitter.com/S1i04zeqvA

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 15, 2025

“Had a little chat between the second and third and found a way to push a little more, but obviously not enough,” McLellan said. “If you don’t play your full 60 against these top teams, you’re likely going to come out on the losing end and that’s exactly what happened.”

Petr Mrazek took the loss, dropping to 5-1 at Carolina as a Red Wings goalie. With the loss, the Red Wings remain 11th in the Eastern Conference with 68 points.

That’s the same total as the Boston Bruins. Detroit is one point back of the Montreal Canadiens and two behind both the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers, who are deadlocked for the second wild card playoff spot in the conference.