Recap: Red Wings blow lead, lose 4-2 to Seattle Kraken

ST PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 14: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Detroit Red Wings looks on against the Minnesota Wild in the second period of the game at Xcel Energy Center on February 14, 2022 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Red Wings 7-4. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
ST PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 14: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Detroit Red Wings looks on against the Minnesota Wild in the second period of the game at Xcel Energy Center on February 14, 2022 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Red Wings 7-4. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Holding a 2-0 lead over the Seattle Kraken heading into the third period, the Detroit Red Wings collapsed completely, giving up four straight goals to lose 4-2.

First period

Outshot 16-6, Alex Nedeljkovic was the only thing keeping Detroit competitive in the first period. It took the Wings over 11 minutes to register a shot on goal, and with the offense stagnant, the most entertaining part of the period was a fight from Vladislav Namestnikov.

Second period

For the first ten minutes of the second period, Seattle continued to control the pace of play. Nedeljkovic was forced to make a few saves, and the Wings couldn’t get much going in the offensive zone. A pair of penalties on Detroit gave the Kraken a prime opportunity to finally find the back of the net.

However, the Red Wings penalty kill stood tall, surviving the 5-on-3 and the ensuing power play. As the penalty expired, Dylan Larkin raced out of the box, collected the puck and blitzed into the o-zone. He zipped the puck to an open Joe Veleno, who sniped it in to take a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings didn’t stop there. Just a few minutes later, a penalty on Seattle sent Detroit to the man advantage. Taro Hirose knocked the puck past Philipp Grubauer less than a minute into the power play to extend the Wings lead.

Outshot 27-16 heading into the second intermission, the Red Wings inexplicably had a two goal lead.

Third period

The Red Wings luck finally ran out in the third.

The Kraken finally found a way past Nedeljkovic just over seven minutes into the third period, cutting Detroit’s lead to just one. A few minutes later, Seattle scored another to knot things up at 2-2. The Red Wings completed their collapse with roughly seven minutes left in the third period, as the Kraken took a 3-2 lead.

Seattle tacked on an empty netter in the final minute to ice the 4-2 win.