RECAP: Detroit comes up short in Ottawa, 2-1

OTTAWA -- A positive that the Detroit Red Wings pointed to and hope to build off from Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre was their penalty kill, which went a perfect 5-for-5.

It was a performance that kept the Red Wings (10-12-4; 24 points) in the game against the Senators (11-12-2; 24 points), who entered the night with the NHL’s third-highest power-play success rate (28 percent).

"Penalty kill was good," Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. "Huss was good again. That's a tough one. I think we played well enough to get two points, and we got zero. With 40 seconds left, we just got to button things up and get it to overtime."

Like Larkin, head coach Derek Lalonde saw Thursday's setback as a missed opportunity.

"We're going to look back, we outchanced them 5-on-5," Lalonde said. "This is a game you hope to take at least a point out of. Unfortunately, we didn't there in the end."

The Red Wings found themselves in a 1-0 deficit entering the first intermission. The Senators opened the scoring at 12:14 when Josh Norris, an Oxford, Mich., native, netted his first goal of the night by cleaning up his own rebound after Drake Batherson forced a turnover.

Batherson appeared to double the lead at 4:29 of the second period, but his power-play goal was called back after Detroit successfully challenged for offside.

Shots in the frame ended 13-4 in Ottawa’s favor, and 27-12 through two periods.

Alex DeBrincat scored on a 4-on-3 power play to tie it 1-1 at 6:15 of the third period. A pass from Vladimir Tarasenko got to J.T. Compher in the high slot and he slid it to DeBrincat, who beat Senators goalie Linus Ullmark with a wrister from the left face-off circle.

It was DeBrincat’s 11th goal of the season, and his sixth on the man advantage.

"We're battling to get pucks back," DeBrincat said about Detroit's power play as of late. "Making those small little plays and getting a lot of shots on it too. I think it's been good, can definitely be better."

With 43 seconds remaining, Norris beat Red Wings netminder Ville Husso with a wrist shot from the slot for his second goal of the night that stood as the game-winner.

Husso finished with 30 saves for Detroit, while Ullmark stopped 19 shots for Ottawa.

"I thought our third period was good," DeBrincat said. "We had our chances and unfortunately, we gave up one in the last minute. We gave up two points. I think it's tough, but you got to find a way to win these games."

Despite their collective frustration of falling short in their road-trip finale, Larkin said the Red Wings have to pick themselves up and "stay with it."

"We have to find it from within and show what we're capable of," Larkin said. "We have a tough matchup at home on Saturday, then we're back on the road and then we're at home until Christmas. It's time to start playing some hockey and not just set the bar for an overtime loss or getting one point."

NEXT UP: Detroit will host the Colorado Avalanche at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Lalonde on Detroit's penalty kill against Ottawa

"Our PK was a step forward. I've actually liked our PK structure as of late. It was just finding ways to sting us and end up in the back of our net. Tonight was the night we had good structure on it. We had quality throughout and kept it out of the net."

Larkin on moving past Thursday's game

"It was a tough one tonight. Really tough to lose in that fashion and to get zero points. The mindset in our room is we got to get two points, start winning hockey games and getting on a roll here. We've been in this position before. I don't think there's anyone coming in to save the day."

Larkin on if it was difficult for the Red Wings to get a flow going during the game

"It was choppy. You just got to stay in it. Against a team like that, you got to be on your toes every minute. They forecheck hard and play with the puck. It's hard to generate, so we had to grind a lot. There's no reason we shouldn't still be playing that game in overtime right now."

DeBrincat on looking at the positives and learning from the negatives

"Just come to practice ready and obviously start our next game strong. We got to take advantage of our games at home, and we'll get back on the road and do our thing there. Can't get too down, too high on the highs or too low on the lows. We got to find a way to win these tight games."