Penguins fall to Red Wings in preseason play
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Forwards Valtteri Puustinen and Radim Zohorna each had a goal and an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-3 preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday.
Zohorna opened the scoring 6 minutes, 23 seconds into regulation with his first goal of the preseason. Accepting a pass behind the Red Wings’ net, Puustinen slung a forehand pass to the left circle for Zohorna, who roofed a wrister on the near side over goaltender James Reimer’s blocker. Puustinen and defenseman Libor Hajek had assists.
The hosts tied the score 1-1 at 17:23 of the first period via forward Nate Danielson’s first goal.
Following a defensive zone turnover by Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea, Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren collected the puck on the left half wall and centered to the slot for linemate Tara Hirose, who then offloaded it to Danielson.
Finding some room in the right circle, Danielson lifted a wrister to the far side that clunked off the inside of goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s blocker and bounded into the cage. Hirose and Berggren were credited with assists.
A five-on-three power-play goal supplied the Red Wings with their first lead 6:58 into the second frame. Settling a cross-ice pass below the Penguins’ left circle, Dylan Larkin surveyed the net and wired a bad-angle wrister past Nedeljkovic’s glove on the near side for his first goal. Assists went to former Erie Otters forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
Puustinen’s first goal tied the score 2-2 at 10:14 of the second. Aggressively forechecking with Zohorna, Puustinen jabbed the puck away from Berggren in the left circle. Zohorna claimed possession and dished a short-area pass above the crease, where Puustinen chopped a forehand shot over Reimer’s glove. The lone assist was tallied by Zohorna. Reimer was pulled following that score and replaced by Jan Bednar.
Another power-play goal by defenseman Moritz Seider, his first of the preseason, put the Red Wings up 3-2 only 1:26 later. Setting up shop at the center point of the offensive zone, Seider clapped a one-timer that knuckled through a phalanx of bodies and past Nedeljkovic’s glove. Former Penguins forward David Perron supplied an effective screen on the sequence. Gostisbehere and DeBrincat claimed assists.
Things were tied again, 3-3, thanks to forward Sam Poulin’s second goal, which came on a power-play opportunity at 13:08 of the second.
Intercepting a pass intended for Puustinen in the Red Wings’ right circle, Poulin circumnavigated his way past former Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry on his backhand then flipped to his forehand, tucking a clever wrister through a narrow opening between the near post and Bednar’s left leg. Forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Rem Pitlick had assists.
The Red Wings took the lead for good 6:13 into the third period via forward Michael Rasmussen’s first goal. With Zohorna defending minus a stuck, Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson slipped a pass from the left point of the offensive zone to the right circle.
From there, Rasmussen pumped a wrister that bounced off the stick of Puustinen and deflected through Nedeljkovic’s legs. Edvinsson and defenseman William Wallinder netted assists.
Nedeljkovic, who spent the past two seasons with the Red Wings, stopped 29 of the 33 shots he faced.
The Penguins’ next game this preseason is a home contest against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.