Automatic reading

Thumbnails poster

Show captions

Last slide next

The young guys led the way as Detroit The Red Wings tightened the pursuit against another opponent, but ultimately failed.

They dragged the Chicago The Blackhawks Wednesday at the Little Caesars Arena a little over a minute after the puck withdrawal and the damage has increased while the Blackhawks have scored four of their first eight throws. The Wings fought back in the third period, gaining momentum from their 20-year-olds and forcing the game to overtime.

Patrick Kane scored nearly three minutes in overtime to inflict a 5-4 loss to the Wings.

Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou each scored two goals while the Wings fought after a 4-1 deficit. Anthony Mantha has collected four points, eight points in his last five games.

More: Detroit Red Wings to call Filip Zadina after NHL trade deadline

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, February 20, 2019 in Detroit. (Photo11: Paul Sancya, AP)

Larkin celebrates but Blackhawks feast

The Blackhawks scored a goal of 1:39 into the game when Artem Anisimov took the puck to Hronek behind the Detroit net, knocked him out of the post and put the puck in the goal. Five minutes later, Larkin managed to equalize by scoring an equalizer. Larkin took a puck and sent it back to goalkeeper Cam Ward. Brandon Saad beat Howard on the blocker side after grabbing the puck in the neutral zone following a wandering bounce from Niklas Kronwall's stick. Alex DeBrincat of Farmington Hills used his 33rd goal of the season to raise the score to 3-1.

More: Losing to Jack Hughes: Where are the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL draw?

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) skated behind the net against Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard (35) in the first period at the Little Caesars Arena on February 20, 2019. (Photo11: Raj Mehta, USA Today Sports)

A short night for Howard

The Wings staged a ceremony before the match in honor of Jimmy Howard for playing in his 500th career game, February 14th. His family was on the ice with him during his celebration and received a Rolex watch from Marian and Christopher Ilitch. A video on the Jumbotron shows the jet ski that he has received from his teammates.

The game itself was not something to celebrate for Howard. Some teammates had some problems with some goals, but when Patrick Kane scored 4-1 on the eighth-game Blackhawks of the night at 1:17 of the second period, Howard took the hook for the second time in two starts .

Chicago Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane (88) will play defenseman Danny DeKeyser (65) of the Detroit Red Wings and center Andreas Athanasiou (72) in the first period at the Little Caesars Arena on the 20th. February 2019. (Photo11: Raj Mehta, USA Today Sports)

Fury of the third period

The Wings did not need much inspiration to return in the third period – they scored four goals in the third period on Saturday in Philadelphia to fill a deficit of 5-1. Larkin kicked off the rally when he redirected the pass behind Trevor Daley's net at 4:19. The Wings went on the power play at 4:46, and Athanasiou was converted when he slipped the puck off the left post. That's two goals in 63 seconds. Athanasiou scored again with a time of 1:26 to qualify through a Mantha setup.

More: Here's why the Detroit Red Wings have the best chances in our next championship

Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Learn more about the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.