Detroit – Playing three games in four nights isn’t uncommon in the NHL.
As the schedule drags on, teams are going to be tested that way every once in a while.
It’s just that at the beginning of a season, it’s just a little more of a test than usual. The body simply isn’t accustomed to it yet, and the conditioning isn’t yet a peak form.
The Red Wings earned a point Monday, thanks mainly to the will and determination of Dylan Larkin, but Phillip Danault scored his second goal of the game, banking a puck off Filip Hronek at 1 minute, 12 seconds of overtime, giving Los Angels a 5-4 overtime victory.
Oskar Sundqvist tied the game 4-4 with 40.9 seconds left in regulation with his first goal, but it was Larkin who earned the credit.
Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson had an open lane to an empty net, but Larkin went back and knocked the puck off Arvidsson’s stick, keeping the game 4-3 with under a minute left.
Sure enough, the Wings capitalized at the other end with Sundqvist jamming the puck past goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Anze Kopitar broke a 3-3 tie poking in a loose puck in the crease past goaltender Ville Husso, Kopitar’s first goal this season, at 13 minutes 16 seconds of the third period. Kopitar dove to the ice and pushed the puck into the net, after Husso had stopped Adrian Kempe’s shot but left the puck free.
Kopitar’s goal came just after the Wings had tied the game with their first power-play goal of the season.
David Perron scored his second goal of the game and third of the season, at 11:14, tying the game.
The Wings had gone goal-less in 10 power-play opportunities and had failed on the first three attempts Monday. But Perron took a pass from Filip Hronek, settled near the dot, and snapped a shot past goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Adam Erne opened the Wings’ goal scoring.
Husso stopped 31 shots, while the Wings continued to excel on the penalty kill. They killed all four Kings power plays are are now a perfect 12-for-12 on the season.
Gabe Vilardi, Kempe, and Phillip Danault added Kings goals, while goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots.
The Wings were without forwards Tyler Bertuzzi (upper-body injury, out four to six weeks) and Jakub Vrana (personal reasons, out Monday) for the game, with Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno re-entering the lineup.
Lalonde has talked often during the season’s opening week about the three-game in four-night block of games, and accepting it as a challenge.
The Wings defeated New Jersey Saturday on the back end of a back-to-back set of games, arriving in New Jersey around 2 a.m., but somehow finding a way to power their way past the Devils later in the night.
The Wings took Sunday off, but went right back to work against the Kings.
“A huge challenge,” said Lalonde of the three games. “A lot of teams have had back to backs on the front end of the season for whatever reason. We’ve kind of challenged the guys (to bring the energy).”
The Wings appeared to find their energy as the game progressed.
Erne opened the scoring with his first goal of the season. Erne gathered a loose puck and skated up wing on a two-on-one with Pius Suter. But Erne kept the puck and sniped a shot from the hashmarks past Quick, giving the Wings a 1-0 lead at 4:26.
But the Kings quickly answered with Vilardi scored his third goal. Vilardi used Moritz Seider as a screen and snapped a shot that got through Husso at 4:45.
The Kings regained the lead before the end of the period. Kempe, off a rush, beat Husso high at 14:40 for his fourth goal of the young season.
After the Wings failed on two consecutive power plays, they evened the game back at full strength.
Dominik Kubalik, who replaced Bertuzzi on the Wings’ top line, whiffed on a shot but regained the puck and fed Perron open across the slot for a one-timer at 9:15.
But the Kings answered again, this time with Danault’s first goal.
After the Wings had killed off a Kings’ power play, Trevor Moore found Danault open to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead just 11 seconds after the power play expired.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan