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DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings did not make a good first impression Thursday.
Their commitment to better team defense was lacking big-time in a season-opening 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena.
Ville Husso, after a strong preseason, didn’t even make it to the midway point of the game. The Penguins scored three times in a span of 2:33 early in the second period to take a 4-1 lead, prompting coach Derek Lalonde to put Cam Talbot in the game.
Alex DeBrincat scored twice and Vladimir Tarasenko scored in his Red Wings debut. Lucas Raymond picked up a pair of assists.
Husso made only one brief appearance after mid-December last season due to two lower-body injuries. He allowed four goals on 14 shots.
The Red Wings cut their deficit to 4-2 when Tarasenko scored at 12:32 of the second on a snipe from the face-off circle four seconds after a power play expired.
They didn’t capitalize on the momentum. Instead, Erik Karlsson scored a power-play goal at 1:42 of the third and Pittsburgh regained its three-goal lead.
When DeBrincat scored his second of the game during a five-on-three advantage at 8:13 of the third, the Red Wings still had hope. It was dashed when Kevin Hayes scored with 7:39 to play.
The Red Wings looked to be an advantageous position facing a team that played the night before (6-0 loss to the New York Rangers) and a goaltender making his NHL debut. But Joel Blomqvist was a sharp in the first period, stopping 12-of-13 shots and made 29 saves overall.
It was a promising start for Detroit when DeBrincat scored at 3:46 of the first, firing in a one-timer from the slot on a pass by Raymond.
When Anthony Beauvillier banked in a shot off Ben Chiarot to tie it at 15:02 of the first, the Penguins found new life.
Beauvillier scored again on a net-front rebound, Drew O’Connor finished after a nice set-up by Evgeni Malkin, and Marcus Pettersson flipped in a shot from the point – all less than six minutes into the second period.
The Red Wings played catch-up the rest of the way, but the deficit was too large. Pittsburgh is 10-2-2 in its past 14 vs. the Red Wings.
Detroit hosts the Nashville Predators on Saturday (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).
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