Detroit — No hockey team wants to fall behind, and need to stage a massive rally to get back and win a game.
The Red Wings, who are not a dangerous offensive team, are certainly in that category. But they’ve made it particularly difficult for themselves in recent games.
Wednesday’s 5-1 loss against New Jersey was the latest example. The Wings fell behind 5-0 before scoring a late goal to at least thwart the Devils’ shutout.
But it was the fifth consecutive game the Wings have trailed, three times the deficit being at least four goals
Now, the Wings did rally from a 4-0 first-period deficit in Pittsburgh to defeat the Penguins 5-4 in overtime, and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Ottawa, 4-2.
But no team can expect to live this dangerously and believe they can consistently come back to win.
“It’s not sustainable,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “You have to play a full 60 minutes and try to get leads, especially on home ice, that’s very important. You get your matchups, it’s an environment you’re comfortable with. You have to find a way to get a goal.”
The Wings emphasized a good start against the Devils, and for the most part, they were satisfied, as they came out of the first period 0-0 with New Jersey. But the lack of offense is a factor.
In the last four games, the Wings have found themselves trailing 7-0 after the first period, although coach Derek Lalonde see those numbers as not indicative of how the Wings looked.
“It’s always frustrating,” Lalonde said. “We’re not built like that (scoring goals in bunches). We emphasized a good start today and we got it. The bottom line is we come out of those (previous four games) and don’t score a first-period goal. It’s not comfortable trailing.
“We’ve been outscored 7-0 in the first period (over the four games), but our play was actually pretty good.”
Fabbri’s return
Robby Fabbri returned to the lineup Wednesday but the Wings aren’t going to play Fabbri on consecutive nights this weekend.
Lalonde said it’s being determined whether to play Fabbri on Friday against Florida, or Saturday in Toronto.
Fabbri played almost 15 minutes Wednesday in his first game since last spring’s knee surgery.
“Not sure,” Lalonde said of what Friday’s lineup will look like. “We have some things in play, having a back to back and we do not expect to play Fabs back to back. So it’s just a matter of whether he’ll play the front end or back.”
Fabbri was pleased with how the evening went.
“I felt better than I expected after being off for 10 months,” Fabbri said. “But (it was about) the work I put into it, and the time we took to make sure when I came back I’d feel as good as I can. A lot of things will get better as I plaly games. You can’t emulate them in practice overall.
“It was pretty good, but some areas to clean up.”
Fabbri is from Toronto, so there’s always a good feeling playing in your hometown. Although, having family and friends in Toronto can make for an expensive venture.
“It’s his eighth year in the league and he said if I was younger in the league, of course I’d like to play in Toronto,” said Lalonde, with a smile. “But it costs him a little money for tickets in Toronto too, so he’s fine either way.”
Goaltending news
Lalonde said Ville Husso will start in net against Florida, but wouldn’t commit to a starter Saturday, saying it was too soon.
Husso only faced 26 shots against New Jersey, and if he has a similar low volume night against Florida, there could be the option to also play him in Toronto.
“The lack of volume he got (Wednesday) would give us maybe that option,” Lalonde said. “Let’s see how Friday goes. It’s another offensive-minded team, in Florida, but we were here earlier in the year, and he had played a back to back game because he had very little volume on the front end. Last night was a game where he did not have very much volume, so if he has another game like that Friday, it’s something we’d entertain.”
In terms of goaltending, Lalonde was happy to see Alex Nedeljkovic stop 26 shots in leading Grand Rapids to a victory Wednesday in Nedeljkovic’s first game on a conditioning stint.
“Awesome,” Lalonde said of the outcome. “We want him (Nedeljkovic) to get his rhythm and game in order. I talked to Ben (Simon, Griffins’ coach) after the game and Ben said he was good and sharp.”
Panthers at Red Wings
▶ Faceoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
▶ TV/radio: BSDETX/97.1 FM
▶ Outlook: The Panthers (17-18-4) earned a needed victory Tuesday against Arizona, given they’d lost five of their last six games previous. … Florida has won the only game against the Wings this season … LW Matthew Tkachuk (47 points) is leading the way offensively.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan