The Detroit Red Wings not only lost forward Andrew Copp to injury, but they also twice couldn't protect a one-goal lead against the Florida Panthers, who defeated them by a 4-3 final.
The Detroit Red Wings twice held the lead against the severely shorthanded Florida Panthers, who were missing multiple forwards, on Tuesday evening at Amerant Bank Arena.
But on a night when the Red Wings needed to gain points in the standings and get some outside help, nothing went right.
The Panthers twice tied the score in the third period, and then scored the game-winning goal with 14 seconds left in regulation, holding on for a victory and dealing the Red Wings perhaps their most disappointing defeat of the season.
Not only that, but the Red Wings, who were already playing without top center and team captain Dylan Larkin, lost Andrew Copp after he suffered a lower-body injury in the second period; he was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Adding extra insult to injury was the fact that the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Columbus Blue Jackets all won their respective games.
Montreal is now back in the third place position in the Atlantic, while the Red Wings dropped down to the first Wild Card position; the Bruins are only one point behind, with the Blue Jackets only three points behind.
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Vinnie Hinostroza, who was recently re-acquired by the Panthers, opened the scoring by deflecting a shot past goaltender John Gibson in the first period.
However, the Red Wings took the lead in the second period thanks to strikes from Patrick Kane and Justin Faulk. For Faulk, it was his first goal in a Red Wings uniform after being acquired on Friday from the St. Louis Blues.
While the Panthers tied the game early in the third period, Marco Kasper took a pass from Emmitt Finnie and partially broke in alone before ripping a shot past goaltender Daniil Tarasov.
But the Panthers managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to a pair of goals from Carter Verhaeghe, who not only tied the score with Tarasov on the bench for an extra attacker but then scored the winner with 14 seconds remaining.
Gibson finished with 24 saves, while Tarasov countered with 25 saves.
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