Red Wings-Canucks wrap-up: Accentuating fewer and fewer positives

The Detroit Red Wings lost a difficult 5-4 overtime decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon, and the 10-11-and-3 Red Wings will now embark upon a stretch in which they play 4 of 5 games away from Little Caesars Arena, including games at Boston (Tuesday), at Ottawa (Thursday), at home vs. Colorado (next Saturday), then at Buffalo (next Monday) and Philadelphia (next Thursday).

In the the middle of the road trip, the Wings play a home game against the high-flying Avalanche, so the next 5 games aren’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

On Sunday, the usual chinks in the armor surfaced: the Red Wings’ penalty-kill wasn’t good enough, the fact that the Red Wings are penalty-prone hurt the cause, and while the Red Wings were resilient, rallying from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to take a 4-3 lead, Detroit could not keep their lead late in the 3rd period, and when overtime took place, a missed “man-on-man” exchange yielded the game-winning, hat trick goal for Jake DeBrusk.

The fact that the Wings lost Cam Talbot early in the 2nd period to a lower-body injury didn’t help the Wings’ cause, but the team still looks incredibly fragile, they aren’t quite physical enough, and their tendencies to make catastrophic mistakes are all concerning.

For the Canucks, Sunday’s win was an exultant moment, as they told VancouverCanucks.com’s Lindsey Horsting…

“I thought our first wasn’t that good, but I loved the response,” Tocchet said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, the game’s not over. I think that we played good hockey in the last 40 minutes. I liked the fight, scoring there with three minutes left – Bränns, nice shot. Then obviously overtime, hanging in there. Jake – what a night, three goals, I mean that was a hell of a goal there. That’s why we signed him up, for those type of moments and he came through for us,” Tocchet said.

Throughout the game, Quinn Hughes, Jake DeBrusk, and Kevin Lankinen climbed the franchise and NHL leaderboards setting records in different categories.

DeBrusk had his second career hat trick and his 16th career multi-goal game. So far this season, DeBrusk is tied with Alex Ovechkin and Sam Reinhart for the league lead in road goals with ten.

DeBrusk joked that he wasn’t feeling particularly different coming into this game, but he liked how the team forced their way back in the game in the third period to tie it and push overtime.

“It wasn’t our prettiest game, Detroit I thought played pretty decent. We had good spurts, where we were moving the puck around as a unit of five and to be able to tie it late obviously just shows what this team is becoming about. You never want to go down after having a lead going into the third period.”

Quinn Hughes now officially holds the franchise record for assists by a defenceman, tallying three assists against the Red Wings for a total of 313 assists in 388 games. Hughes surpasses Alex Edler’s 310 assists in 925 games.

“It’s incredible, a great milestone,” Tocchet said. “Obviously if not the best defenceman in the league, he sure puts up a good argument because, what did I play him, 31 minutes tonight. The guy came into camp in shape, that’s why he plays 31 minutes.”

The Canucks continued while speaking with the Vancouver Province’s Ben Kuzma…

“I liked the fight, scoring with three minutes left and obviously the overtime and hanging in there,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “And Jake. Three goals. What a night and a hell of a (winning) goal. That’s why we signed him, for those type of moments and he came through for us.

“We’re a scrappy team. It might not be pretty some nights but we don’t give up.”

Lankinen also had plenty of incentive Sunday. His 9-0-0 to start the season on the road shared the league mark with Glenn Hall (1965-66) and Cam Talbot (2022-23) and he went one better to own it.

“He’s a road warrior — I think he likes his hotel points,” joked Tocchet. “He’s been like that all year. He lives for the moment and another good effort.”

And then, of course, there was Hughes. The captain is all in overcoming a season where the club has been beset by inquiry and misfortune. A three-assist effort by the improving Elias Pettersson was not lost on him as another sign of improving times.

“Our compete level and will to win is really high right now,” he noted. “It (assist record) feels great and I was lucky to have Eddie for two years and he was a great teammate. I’ve been able to play with good players and you saw the play Petey made in overtime.”

DeBrusk was succinct, for the most part…

“When you get two goals that quick, and with time left, you have a chance and always think about getting that third,” admitted DeBrusk. “It’s been pretty elusive throughout my career and nice to do it in overtime. It wasn’t our prettiest game, but we had good spurts and being able to tie it late shows what this team is becoming.”

Though DeBrusk cracked a joke while speaking with NHL.com’s Dave Hogg:

Quinn Hughes had three assists and became the Canucks’ all-time leader among defensemen (313), and Erik Brannstrom tied it late in the third period for Vancouver (13-7-3), which has won four of five.

“Is (Hughes) going to steal my hat-trick puck?” DeBrusk joked. “I’ve never been with a player on the ice where, whenever he’s out there, you want to give him the puck because it’s probably going to come back to you in a better spot.”

Lankinen, who made 27 saves, passed Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall, who won his first nine starts on the road to start the 1965-66 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit goalie Cam Talbot, who won its first nine last season with the Los Angeles Kings.

“I had no idea,” Lankinen said. “No one else has gotten 10 [to start a season]? Ever?”

Jonatan Berggren had a goal and an assist for Detroit (10-11-3) which lost Talbot in the second period to a lower-body injury. Talbot made 12 saves on 14 shots before being replaced by Husso, who made 15 saves.

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde didn’t have an update on Talbot after the game. With Alex Lyon (lower body) also sidelined, Lalonde said he doesn’t know who will be their second goalie for a two-game road trip that begins at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

“No report yet, but it was obviously lower body and he had to pull himself from the game, so we’ll get a better feel probably later tonight into tomorrow,” Lalonde said.

Coach Lalonde and the Red Wings were quite honestly disappointed in the way that the game turned out, as they told the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

“That’s probably the frustration of only getting the point, is the way we started,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Then the penalty kill again.

“Give the guys credit to come back and get a point, trailing in the third. There were some ups and downs in the game, some frustration with it.”

And coach Lalonde understood that the Wings’ man-on-man defensive coverage was one of the reasons why they lost:

“Easy switch and they scored on a pretty good shot,” Wings coach Derek Lalonde said of the game-winning goal. “It happens all the time on three-on-three (the switch play) and we defended it fairly well, kept it for distance. But it was a pretty good shot. A great start (to the game), that’s probably the frustration of only getting the one point (for the standings), it was the way we started.”

The overtime loss left the Wings at 10-11-3, with points in three of the last four games (2-1-1). They are 3-2-1 over their last six games, keeping themselves above water, but not getting the long winning streak and traction to be able to substantially move up the standings.

“Traction is the word,” Lalonde said. “We’re sitting here, an opportunity today, the last handful of games, we just can’t get traction. The three losses of late, the (Boston) Bruins game was there for the taking, the other night (New Jersey loss) was there for the taking and (Sunday) certainly was there for the taking. We had some good performances in there. We have to stay on it and keep rounding out our game. You can see flashes of it.”

Flashes are just flashes, however. The captain was more circumspect about the situation…

“Vlade’s goal was a huge goal, and we responded on our power play as well,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “But we came up a little short at the end. Three-on-three (overtime), anything can happen.”

While the coach was willing to speak tactically…

With Vancouver enjoying a two-man advantage, DeBrusk deflected Pettersson’s shot just 23 seconds into the second period. Then, with the Canucks still enjoying a power play, DeBrusk tapped in a loose puck off Quinn Hughes’ shot past Talbot, DeBrusk’s ninth goal, after Lucas Raymond missed an opportunity to clear the puck down the ice.

“The penalty kill again (is a focus), but this was different. A five-on-three (man advantage), and they had a good tip on it. Then the second one, man, missed clear and those are the frustrating ones. A lot of it has not been structure of late. Lucas Raymond is going to be an all-star type of player and he misses a clear. We had kills after that, but it’s the frustration of where the penalty kill is. It’s finding a way to sting us.”

The captain wanted to talk about the positives he witnessed…

Berggren had a goal and assist, Marco Kasper had two assists, and Tarasenko a goal, as the line continues to develop into a promising unit. The development of Berggren and Kasper, especially, is heartening.

“They’ve brought a spark,” Larkin said. “Marco battles and Bergey makes plays. They’re still learning but it’s great to see for the future and for those guys to be contributing.”

Coach Lalonde told MLive’s Ansar Khan that the Wings don’t know what ails Cam Talbot yet…

“I have no idea what our goaltending situation is going to look like,” Lalonde said. “Have a better idea in the morning. (Talbot) tweaked it during the game. I think the good sign is that he hung in there another few minutes, got us through the power play, then we scored, and then he had to pull himself.”

The Red Wings entered the game last in the league on the penalty kill and have allowed 24 power-play goals in 24 games.

“I thought we did a good job limiting their chances, but just the details again,” Dylan Larkin said. “We (need to) stick together and dig ourselves out of that hole on the penalty kill.”

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff is quite concerned about the Wings’ lack of depth now that Talbot and Alex Lyon are injured…

Husso is without an NHL win since December 12, 2023. He’s lost his last seven NHL decisions. This season, Husso is 0-2-1 with a 4.90 goals-against average and .818 save percentage.

Jack Campbell is just back from a stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. Since clearing NHL waivers and being given assignment to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, he’s seen no game action. Campbell was backing up for the Griffins on Sunday as they were playing the Cleveland Monsters.

Campbell’s last NHL win was on October 17, 2023. He’s 1-4 in his last five decisions with an .873 save percentage and 4.50 GAA.

There’s always an outside chance that come Tuesday at TD Garden, the goalies for the Red Wings could be Huss and Coss. Sebastian Cossa has been carrying the load for the AHL Griffins.

The netminder who was Detroit’s 15th overall selection in the 2021 NHL entry draft is still awaiting his first appearance in The Show. However, this season he’s 8-4-1 with a .929 save percentage and 2.06 GAA for the Griffins.

The Red Wings were only concerned about Talbot, as they told the Detroit News’s Kulfan…

“He tweaked it during the game,” Lalonde said. “The good sign is that he hung in there another few minutes and got us through the power play and then we scored (Alex DeBrincat tied the game 2-2) and he had to pull himself. He (Talbot) communicated through one of our players (that he was hurt) and once we scored, it was a little breather, and he communicated he had to pull himself.

“No report yet (on the severity of the injury). He had to pull himself from the game and we’ll have a better feel later tonight or tomorrow.”

Talbot stopped 12 of 14 shots before exiting. It was evolving into a fine start in a season in which Talbot has ranked among the league leaders in save percentage (.915) and goals-against average (2.73), while posting a 6-5-2 record.

“It’s tough, you don’t want to see that,” captain Dylan Larkin said of Talbot’s injury. “But it’s next man up. Huss (Husso) came in and did a great job and made some big saves. It was good to see that from him.”

…

“We’ve had two goalies down in the past week,” Lalonde said. “I have no idea what our goaltending situation will look like (Tuesday in Boston).”

Among DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills’ post-game quotes:

Lalonde on Talbot’s lower-body injury

“He tweaked it during the game. I think a good sign is that he hung in there another few minutes and got us through the power play, then we scored. Then he had to pull himself.”

Larkin on the boost the club is getting from Kasper and Berggren

“They’ve brought a spark. I think Marco battles and Bergy makes plays. They’re still learning, but it’s great to see for the future – for those guys to contribute. That was a big-boy hockey game, and they were there to answer the bell tonight.”

Seider on adjusting to a new goalie mid-game

“It’s not really that big of a change, to be honest. It doesn’t matter who’s in there. We just got to make good calls. They both can play the puck and read the game really well. Maybe Cam is a little bit louder, but other than that I don’t think it’s a big deal to be honest.”

Seider on building off a 2-1-1 stretch heading into this week

“We want to win the [upcoming] road trip and get above .500 again. “See the light at the end of the tunnel, and just go from there. Get away, get together as a team and hopefully go from there.”

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Highlights: NHL.com posted a 10:10 highlight clip: