The performance wasn't among the Detroit Red Wings best, but there was still a milestone to celebrate as Patrick Kane tied metro Detroit native (and former Red Wing) Mike Modano for most points in NHL history by a U.S.-born player.
The Los Angeles Kings, who are fighting for a playoff spot, had the better start and middle in their only appearance of the season at Little Caesars Arena, on Tuesday, Jan. 27. It wasn't until the third period that the Wings looked like they had some pop to them and got on the scoreboard, but they couldn't undo the slow start and lost, 3-1.
Red Wings playoff picture
That kept the Wings at 69 points, with a 32-17-5 record. The Tampa Bay Lightning (70 points) were idle, and still have three games in hand on the Wings atop the Atlantic Division. Kane's next chance to pass Modano will come with a notable record-holder in the building: Alex Ovechkin, who holds the NHL's all-time goals record, with 918, and the Washington Capitals visit Little Caesars Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+/HULU). After that, the Wings will host Colorado at 1 p.m. Saturday in their last home game until March 4.
The Kings, whose scheduled game on Monday against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio, was postponed because of snow, looked like they had the fresher legs, even though both teams had been off since Saturday. They scored their second goal while defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker was in the penalty box early in the third period, with Andrei Kusmenko scoring on a low shot. Goalie Anton Forsberg, who had a good night, denied Alex DeBrincat in the final minutes.
The Wings pulled goalie John Gibson with about 3½ minutes to play for an extra attacker, and during that stretch, DeBrincat did succeed, edging the Wings within a goal with 2:15 on the clock. Kane's assist gave him 1,374 career points.
Corey Perry added an empty net goal at 18:47.
A sleepy start at LCA
The Wings were home again after taking five of six points on a trip north and west. But right from the get-go Tuesday, they looked off.
Gibson was tested right away, by Warren Foegele. Midway through the first period, the Wings were assessed back-to-back penalties, to Albert Johansson and Dylan Larkin. It was while killing off the Larkin penalty that Moritz Seider was tripped, sending the Wings on a power play, and Larkin was released 6 seconds later. But the Wings got nothing out of the man advantage, running around chasing pucks and failing to generate a good chance against Forsberg. It was reflective of the Wings' first period overall: Sloppy.
That didn't improve much when the second period began, and sure enough, midway through, the Kings scored. Jeff Malott was in a forecheck when he got his stick on the puck and fired a backhand pass out to Samuel Helenius in the slot for a 1-0 lead.
A second power play wasn't enough to generate momentum for the Wings, who squandered the last 1:39 minutes of the second period again running around accomplishing little. The Wings had 10 shots on goal after 40 minutes.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings open homestand with 3-1 loss to LA Kings
