Detroit Red Wings clinch last place in NHL with 5-2 loss to Carolina Hurricanes

The Detroit Red Wings squandered an opportunity to gain a little more ground as search for an identity.

They coughed up a short-handed goal in the third period to the Carolina Hurricanes, a disappointing turn after showing good fight through the first two periods Tuesday on Little Caesars Arena.

The Wings (17-49-5) fought through two deficits but their failure on special teams – they went scoreless on five man advantages – led to a 5-2 loss.

With the defeat, the Wings clinched last place in the NHL. They are 23 points behind 30th-place Ottawa with 11 games remaining.

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The game was marked by multiple scrums, one immediately after the Wings successfully challenged play was offside when Andrei Svechnikov scored.

The Hurricanes gained their first lead when Morgan Geekie beat Jonathan Bernier glove-side midway through the first period, but Tyler Bertuzzi used his 21st goal of the season to tie the game. Nino Niederreiter fired a shot through traffic during a Carolina power play to make it 2-1, but Madison Bowey and Christoffer Ehn teamed up to tie the game at 15:26 of the second period, with Bowey throwing a shot on net that Ehn slid to knock behind Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek.

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The Wings killed off a 29-second 2-man Carolina power play near the start of the third period but Justin Williams scored during 5-on-4 play to put the Wings in a hole again. That grew to two goals when Sebastian Aho scored while Martin Necas served a penalty for boarding Sam Gagner. Gagner went into the glass face first, after crashing into the boards back first in the second period. Aho scored again with 2:02, the third power-play goal of the game for Carolina.

The Wings were without one of their top-four defensemen, Patrik Nemeth, who was with his wife as she was due to give birth. 

Bertuzzi, Mantha rack up points

Bertuzzi extended his goal streak to three straight games when he tipped Anthony Mantha’s shot at 13:28 of the first period. That was Bertuzzi’s third goal and sixth point in three games. Mantha, who like Bertuzzi had a goal and three assists Sunday vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, picked up his fourth assists and sixth point in four games.

More:Red Wings' top line good enough to play spoiler in final 12 games

Glendening gets to 500

Luke Glendening’s career arc hit a milestone Tuesday when he appeared in his 500th NHL game, all of them with the Wings. Glendening, who is from Grand Rapids, was a walk-on at Michigan and left as a two-time captain. In June 2012 he was signed by the Grand Rapids Griffins to a one-year contract. Glendening, 30, turned that audition into an eight-years-and-counting career with the Wings, making his NHL debut Oct. 12, 2013. “I definitely never thought I would get here,” Glendening said. “I didn’t even know if I would ever play one. I feel truly blessed to be able to say I played that many games for one organization.”

Zadina on hold

When Filip Zadina practiced for the first time Saturday, there was hope he’d be back within the week. But he wasn’t on the ice for the morning skate Tuesday, and coach Jeff Blashill said Zadina had a “mid-body” issue that prevented him from skating. Blashill did not know if Zadina will accompany the team as it heads to Washington and Tampa Bay this week. Zadina has not played since Feb. 1, when a fractured ankle suffered the previous night at the New York Rangers interrupted his season. 

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.