Not quite five minutes into Saturday night's game from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Lucas Raymond benefitted from a fortuitous deflection off a Golden Knight stick in the slot to put his Red Wings up 1–0 with a power play goal. Detroit, loser of eight of its last 10 games entering the night, had energy and a reward for a strong start. By the end of the first period, that momentum ran dry, and the Red Wings trailed by two on the way to a 6–3 loss, their distant playoff hopes fading just a bit farther into horizon.
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Vegas would've scored for in the first had coach Todd McLellan not successfully overturned a goal for offside, but before two minutes were played in the second, Patrick Kane buried the rebound from a Moritz Seider shot, and Detroit cut the score to 3–2 with another power play goal.
For the second time on the evening, an early period Red Wings goal inspired a Vegas volley in return. Mark Stone made it 4–2 Knights just over five minutes later, then Tomas Hertl (who'd scored twice in the first, both goals exploiting open ice around the Detroit crease, while the Red Wings failed to tie up his stick) added another a minute after Stone.
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In the third, Alex DeBrincat got Detroit the first goal again, a wrist shot rifled in and back out of the net before Adin Hill could react in the Vegas crease. DeBrincat's goal made it 5–3 Knights with just over half the final period still to play. This time, Vegas only answered once, but it was all the Knights would need: Jack Eichel fighting through three Red Wings to tuck a backhanded empty net goal home with the clock showing 2:01 to play.
The loss, coupled with the results on the out-of-town scoreboard, leaves Detroit five points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (the Montreal Canadiens, who overturned a late 4–1 deficit to salvage a point in a 5–4 OT loss to Colorado Saturday night).
The Red Wings have 13 games with which to make up that gap, beginning Monday night in Utah. They entered their present trip with their postseason aspirations potentially hanging in the balance. Now, the back-to-back in Salt Lake City and Denver will be their last chance to salvage any points from the road. It's not quite do-or-die yet, not mathematically anyway, but Detroit desperately needs positive results.
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