Detroit — Finally, someone scored in Saturday’s Red Wings game against Philadelphia.
Unfortunately for the Wings, it was the Flyers who finally ended the long scoring drought and it carried them to a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings.
Scott Laughton scored his at 9 minutes, 1 second of the third period, finally breaking the ice, then Noah Cates added one at 13:23 as the Flyers skated to the win.
Lucas Raymond scored his 15th goal with 41.6 seconds remaining in regulation time, cutting the Flyers lead to 2-1. Raymond was right on the doorstep with two seconds left but goaltender Carter Hart, who was the star of the game, made a pad save in the crease.
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“How that puck did not go in, not only did he (Hart) get a pad on it, he flexed his pad to keep it out, that’s pretty impressive,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “His whole night, we got good traffic and the way he was seeing it, we generated some tips, but it was one of those nights.
“We ran into a world-class performance in net and we left a couple of plays out there.”
The Wings (19-18-8) lost their fourth out of five games, while Philadelphia (20-20-7) has won eight of its last 11 games.
The Wings returned from a three-game Western swing Friday but didn’t look ragged or sluggish.
“It’s tough travel, tough always to come back from the west coast and we came in and skated this morning and guys looked pretty tired,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “But we had a real strong effort and I was happy with the way we played.
“Doing it right all night, then two little breakdowns and they’re in the back of our net. It hurts, it stings. We were right there.”
Kevin Hayes gingerly stayed onside while receiving a pass, then found Laughton skating alone down the slot as the Wings froze as Hayes received the pass. Laughton placed a backhander high over goaltender Ville Husso for his 12th goal.
Cates converted Travis Konecny’s feed out of the corner and snapped his sixth goal past Husso.
“It just felt like one of those games where it’s going to be the first play, the first mistake, and they made it and we made it,” Lalonde said.
Husso and Philadelphia’s Carter Hart were tough when needed in the defensive struggle, Husso with 23 saves and Hart 30.
BOX SCORE: Flyers 2, Red Wings 1
Hart made a diving glove save on Joe Veleno shortly after Laughton’s goal, preserving the Flyers lead.
“Hart played good,” Larkin said. “It was a like a playoff game out there.”
The Wings failed to convert on two power plays and the Flyers one.
“If we got one (goal, the first goal), we’re probably having a different discussion,” Larkin said.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
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