After allowing the Ottawa Senators to score three goals in the second period Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings scored twice but were unable to get the third goal to even the score, picking up a 3-2 loss.
Forty-three saves by Ottawa netminder Ray Emery kept the Red Wings even getting a point out of a game which they controlled most of.
Detroit outshot the Senators 18-3 in the first period but couldn’t get on the board.
Jason Spezza scored the game’s first goal just 1:44 into the second, picking off a Robert Lang pass at the Ottawa blue line and breaking in all alone on Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek before roofing a shot over his pad.
Chris Neil added the Senators’ second goal at 5:19 of the middle frame, knocking the puck out of the air with what Hasek argued was a high stick and bouncing it under the Detroit goalie just as an Ottawa power play came to an end.
Spezza’s second of the night came 5:01 after his first as he split the Detroit defense in the slot and put a shot past Hasek for a power play goal.
The momentum swung back in Detroit’s favor 25 seconds later, when Lang threaded a shot from the left faceoff circle between Emery and the far post.
With 2:26 remaining in the second, Pavel Datsyuk snapped a shot from almost the same spot past Emery on the near side, a power play goal.
The Red Wings couldn’t pull even in the third, even with Hasek out of the net and an extra attacker on the ice for the final minute of the game.
Hasek finished the night with 19 saves against his former team.
Detroit went 1-for-3 on the power play while Ottawa was 1-for-4.
The Red Wings’ next game will be Thursday when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks and recently-signed forward Peter Bondra.