RECAP: Despite impressive effort, Red Wings come up short in Ottawa, 2-1

OTTAWA -- When the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators took the ice at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday, it had the feel of a big game. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, who outshot the Senators 49-23 on the night, it also ended with the feeling of a tough 2-1 setback that extended their losing streak to six consecutive games.

“Obviously, it’s always good to play well, have a good team game and get as many shots on net as we had,” said Lucas Raymond, who fired a last-second shot that video review showed didn’t cross the goal line before the final horn went off. “But at the same time, it’s about putting wins in the win column, especially at this time of the year. Obviously stings right now, but we know what we’re capable of and what we can do in this locker room. I think it’s been a tough stretch for us, but we’re than confident that we can turn this around and have a good end to the season.”

Head coach Todd McLellan shared similar postgame thoughts, highlighting how he felt Detroit (30-28-6; 66 points) played well but ultimately could only get one past goalie Linus Ullmark, who made a season-high 48 saves for Ottawa (33-25-5; 71 points).

“They put a lot into that game,” head coach Todd McLellan said about the Red Wings. “There's no complaints about effort or, really, execution. We ran into a goalie that had a career night and unfortunately for us, we couldn’t find a way to beat him. We didn’t give up much. We played a good, hard, gritty game. When you’re in [a losing streak] it’d be nice to get a game like this and come out of it. But we play like this, and continue to play like this, we’ll find ways to get wins.”

The Atlantic Division clubs ended the first period scoreless, with shots tied at 9-9. Detroit did generate some good looks on the game’s first power play, which it got after Vladimir Tarasenko drew an Adam Gaudette slashing penalty right before the 10-minute mark of the opening frame.

David Perron, who played with the Red Wings from 2022-24, broke the ice in Canada’s capital by burying a wrister from the left face-off circle for a power-play goal to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 7:39 of the second period.

By the time the second period concluded, Detroit had fired 36 shots on Ullmark, including 27 in the frame alone, but had nothing to show for on the scoreboard. The Red Wings’ second-period shot total also tied a road franchise record.

“I think we felt good,” Alex DeBrincat said about his club’s play in the middle frame. “I think we carried it right into the third period at the start.”

Following a successful early-third period penalty kill that Ottawa had carried over from the second, Detroit tied it 1-1 on captain Dylan Larkin’s 27th goal of the season just 2:58 in.

Set up with a no-look backhanded pass from Raymond in the slot, Larkin sent a wrist shot from the left face-off circle past Ullmark to stretch his goal streak to three straight games. It marked Larkin’s 239th career NHL goal, bringing him four away from tying Tomas Holmstrom for 12th place on the Red Wings’ all-time list.

Dylan Cozens scored the eventual game-winning goal on a power play at 14:56 of the third period. Acquired by the Senators ahead of last Friday’s 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Cozens one-timed Jake Sanderson’s pass past goalie Cam Talbot, who finished with 21 saves.

Craig Smith made his Red Wings debut on Monday, finishing with two shots in 10:56 of ice time. Along with goalie Petr Mrazek, Smith was acquired by Detroit via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Joe Veleno last Friday.

“I think if we keep playing like we did tonight, we’re going to be successful in a lot of games,” Raymond said. “Put this one behind us, learn from it and get ready to go for the next one.”

NEXT UP: Another Atlantic Division matchup is ahead for the Red Wings, who will host the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on Raymond’s almost game-tying goal

“What ends up happening is the League will buzz down. They’re watching every minute, every second, and they’ll determine what goes up on the board so there’s zero opportunity to argue it, and that was what was on the board. Clearly, the puck went in a fraction of a second after the clock ran out.”

McLellan on Detroit getting looks but coming up empty on three power-play opportunities

“There’s not much I wasn’t happy with as far as the game goes, but we get outscored 2-0 on special teams and you could say, ‘Boy, it was a bad night’ with multiple power-play looks. I think we got two bars early. It’s a fine line between scoring and not scoring.”

Raymond on their solid effort that ultimately fell short

‘I feel like this stretch of the season, with this few games left, it’s about results, winning hockey games and finding ways to win. We haven’t done a good enough job of that. We’ve had some solid games, but it’s about getting the wins.”

DeBrincat on how he would describe Monday’s defeat

“Tough one. I thought we played well the whole game. Their power play scored two and we didn’t get any, so it’s the difference-maker.”