Red Wings HC Derek Lalonde makes his feelings known about third period collapse to Ducks 

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Nov 20, 2024 14:31 GMT

Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde was straightforward after his team's 6-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Despite a strong start and a 3-1 lead early in the second period, Detroit allowed Anaheim to score five straight goals. The Ducks scored twice in 38 seconds in the third period, sealing the win.

Lalonde said that after Detroit took a 3-1 lead, they lost control of the game. Turnovers and penalties allowed Anaheim to gain momentum.

"We didn't manage our game, and at 3-1 we had some turnovers and the game got away from us," Lalonde said via detroitnews.com. "We took penalties [in the third period] and it felt like they were playing downhill. It turned once we got a 3-1 lead."

The game shifted when Anaheim tied the score at 3-3 early in the third period. Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry both scored on the power play. Cutter Gauthier's goal gave the Ducks the lead.

The loss was worsened by an injury to Simon Edvinsson, who took a shot to the knee. He left the game after one shift in the third period. Lalonde had no update on his condition.

Detroit's power play worked well with goals from Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren. Alex DeBrincat scored, but Anaheim's Ryan Strome sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

Lalonde also stressed that the team needs to manage the game better, especially in the third period.

"Managing our game," Lalonde added. "Back-to-back games we had good starts and we were playing our game and built our leads and we got away from it."

Detroit will try to bounce back on Saturday in Los Angeles when they take on the LA Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

Red Wings defeat Penguins 3-2 in front of home crowd

In their previous game on Wednesday, the Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 at PPG Paints Arena. The game’s first goal came early in the second period when Jonatan Berggren scored to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. Vladimir Tarasenko set him up with a perfect pass, and Berggren sent a wrist shot past Marcus Pettersson.

Detroit extended its lead to 2-0 at 5:15 of the second period. Patrick Kane ended his goal drought with a one-timer from the right circle during a power play. It was Kane’s third goal of the season.

Pittsburgh responded with Bryan Rust cutting the lead to 2-1 at 7:19. The Penguins tied the game at 12:23 when Anthony Beauvillier scored from a sharp angle after a pass across the crease.

In overtime, Simon Edvinsson scored just 1:30 in to give Detroit the win. He sent a wrist shot past Alex Nedeljkovic after Pittsburgh missed a breakaway chance.