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Red Wings' strong defensive work evaporates late in 3rd vs. Vegas
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- Red Wings' strong defensive work evaporates late in 3rd vs. Vegas
Neither side gave much, leaving the game to come down to a bounce.
Appearing at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, Nov. 5 for a one-off between road trips, the Detroit Red Wings , clad in their special-edition Hometown Remix gear, engaged in a tight outing with the Vegas Golden Knights. It was a 0-0 game going into the third period as Daniil Tarasov again reinforced what a good signing he was in making multiple terrific saves, including five on Jack Eichel.
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But with 1:42 left in the third period, Trevor Connelly powered through Wings defenders and fired a shot from the left circle that eluded Tarasov for the winning goal in a 2-1 Red Wings loss.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Daniil Tarasov (80) makes a save on Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) in the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.
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The Wings (7-7-3) pulled Tarasov right after the goal, but they weren't able to generate another bounce.
The first bounce came two minutes into the third period. Carter Mazur ripped a shot towards the net that was deflected wide. The puck richocheted off the end boards and out front, where Anton Johansson had a half-open net and just enough time to take a shot that tipped off Carter Hart's catching glove and netted him his second career goal.
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Braeden Bowman tied it two minutes later, at 4:20, with a snap shot that hit Tarasov's left shoulder and went into the net.
Who played
Forwards Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton remained sidelined by injury (though the expectation is both will play on the upcoming trip). In the meantime, Emmitt Finnie centered Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson, Andrew Copp was with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Lucas Raymond, J.T. Compher with Michael Rasmussen and Nate Danielson and Sheldon Dries with Mazur and Keegan Kolesar.
On the back end, Moritz Seider partnered with Ben Chiarot, Justin Faulk with William Wallinder, and Johansson with Andreas Englund. Albert Johansson (injured) remained unavailable.
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Big saves
Tarasov started for the second time in three games, while Michal Postava backed up as John Gibson (lower body injury) was unavailable. That the Wings weren't trailing after the first had everything to do with Tarasov, who made four saves during an early Vegas power play alone.
Late in the period, Chiarot's pass intended for Seider was picked off by Mitch Marner, who sprang Ivan Barbashev. He had a clear path to Detroit's net but was denied by Tarasov on what was Vegas' 14th shot on net of the period.
Better second
The Wings did a better job making life harder for Hart in the second period; among the better attempts was when Faulk chipped a pass to DeBrincat right in front of the crease. Finnie generated a chance during Vegas' second power play when he pounced on a loose puck and tore towards the Knights' net. The Wings had an 11-9 edge in shots in the second period alone.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save on Detroit Red Wings left wing Viktor Arvidsson (33) in the second period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.
Savvy penalty kill
The Wings were killing a penalty to Copp starting at 5:30 of the third period, and had about 45 seconds left when Mark Stone was signalled for a penalty. The Wings had possession of the puck - and kept it, eating the rest of the penalty before letting Vegas touch the puck and thus ensuring the Wings would get a full stretch of 5-on-4 hockey, with no 4-on-4 overlap.
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Next up: Rocky Mountain high?
Hope you enjoyed the Wings' one-game homestand; they're back on the road for four games, beginning with a visit to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (9 p.m., Detroit SportsNet). The Avs are led in points by Nathan McKinnon, who led the league in goals last season (with 53 in 80 games) en route to a third-place finish in the media's MVP voting (his eighth top-six finish in nine seasons). After that, the Wings head to St. Louis on Tuesday before winging it back to Florida – yes, already – for games against Florida and Tampa Bay to wrap up the road work. They'll be back on the LCA ice Nov. 18 when the Boston Bruins visit for a nationally televised Original Six matchup.
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Red Wings' strong defensive work evaporates late in 3rd vs. Vegas
