Jets-Red Wings Preview
DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets are coming off of overtime losses of the same score when they play Friday at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit (6-4-1) lost 4-3 in Philadelphia on Wednesday night and Winnipeg (4-6-1) dropped a 4-3 decision at Washington on Thursday night.
The Red Wings, who have lost three straight after a six-game winning streak, blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads against the Flyers.
"It wasn't a perfect 60 minutes, but I thought we had enough good stuff out there to win," Detroit captain and forward Henrik Zetterberg said.
The Red Wings took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals 26 seconds apart by forwards Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou .
Chris Vandevelde scored in the second period and Roman Lyubimov tied it early in the third the third.
Zetterberg's goal 8:18 into the third period have Detroit a 3-2 lead.
But Mark Streit tied the game 3-3 with 1:04 remaining in regulation after goalie Michal Neuvirth was pulled for an extra attacker and Jakub Voracek scored for the Flyers 1:41 into overtime.
Larkin called it a tough way to lose.
"Especially in this building, where historically we haven't been successful in the past however many years," he said.
The Red Wings last won in Philadelphia in Game 2 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Final and last won in the regular season there on June 25, 1997 (0-11-1).
Without six veteran players, the Jets rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the third period and send it to overtime against the Capitals on Thursday night.
Veteran right winger Chris Thorburn took a "family day" and the team was already without injured forwards Bryan Little, Drew Stafford and Shawn Matthias and defensemen Tyler Myers and Mark Stuart.
Winnipeg defenseman Tobias Enstrom made it 3-1 with his shorthanded goal at 2:11 into the third period. It was Enstrom's first goal in 22 games, dating to Feb. 25.
Center Adam Lowry scored at 5:23 of the third to make it 3-2 off a setup from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Mark Dano tied the game at 3-3, 8:49 into the third period.
Alex Ovechkin's power-play goal 3:21 into overtime won it for Washington. It was Ovechkin's second goal of the game.
"We've got a resilient group, a young group of guys that maybe don't know any better, that we shouldn't be doing this every night," center Blake Wheeler said. "But man, we did in the first game of the season and we've continued to do it. ... It's a pretty amazing feeling coming in the room after two periods being down 3-0 and knowing you've still got a shot to the hockey game."
It will most likely be the last game that Jets coach Paul Maurice will coach at Joe Louis Arena.
Maurice began his coaching career at the arena in the early 90's when he was an assistant coach and then the head coach and general manager in the major junior Ontario Hockey League with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings who are now the Flint Firebirds.
It was also a homecoming for Winnipeg center Andrew Copp, who is from Ann Arbor, played youth hockey in the metropolitan Detroit area and played at the University of Michigan.