11 days after Carolina smothered the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, the Hurricanes beat Detroit again Friday in at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. The game looked different than the Canes' win at LCA, with the Red Wings posing a more serious and sustained threat than they managed in the previous match-up, but in the end the result was the same, with Carolina playing its way to a 4–2 victory.
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Detroit had to absorb heavy early pressure in the first period, as the Hurricanes flew out of the gate in their signature free-firing, aggressive fashion. Despite that early push from the home team, it was the visitors who struck first, with Alex DeBrincat nabbing his 31st of the year when the Red Wings forced a turnover on an attempted Carolina zone exit and the diminutive sniper buried a wrister from the outer slot.
Alex DeBrincat goes top-shelf to start the scoring. 🚨
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— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 14, 2025
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The Detroit lead was short-lived, however. Taylor Hall tied the game just 22 seconds into the second period, with Jack Roslovic and Jalen Chatfield following it up to send the game to the third at 3–1 after a period in which the Canes held a 12–6 advantage in shots.
Michael Rasmussen cut that lead to 3–2 early in the final frame with an impressive solo effort, lugging the puck from end to end before dipping his shoulder to sashay around Roslovic. It took three whacks at the puck to beat Frederik Andersen, but Rasmussen eventually forced home the puck, leaving his team with just over 17 minutes to find an equalizer.
The Red Wings continued to threaten down the stretch, and the third was the only period in which they outshot their hosts (14–11), but Detroit couldn't find the goal it needed, before Eric Robinson hit the empty net to make it 4–2 with just over a minute left, sealing the result.
"I thought the second was the period that really hurt us," coach Todd McLellan told reporters in his post-game remarks. "The first, you have to weather the storm here. They come out real hard, we got some good saves, I thought we settled in as the period wore on, scoring certainly helped us, but the second period was unacceptable. It wasn't just Carolina-inflicted; it was self-inflicted. It started with the very first shift…some really dumb play on our behalf, so that was self-inflicted…If you don't play your full 60 against these top teams, you're likely going to come out on the losing end."
The Red Wings have now lost six straight to the Hurricanes, with their last win coming on March 30, 2023 at LCA. McLellan likes to talk about a 'race to three' in the modern NHL, and Detroit hasn't made it to three goals in any of those six defeats.
After the loss, the Red Wings remain two points back of the playoff cut line, with an extra game played and the Rangers and Canadiens both between them and the Blue Jackets (present holders of the second wild card berth in the East). Detroit will be back in action Sunday afternoon at LCA, hosting the Vegas Golden Knights.
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