Penguins' defense diced up in loss to Red Wings

For a few weeks now, the Pittsburgh Penguins have viewed the final stages of the regular season as their playoffs just to qualify for the actual playoffs while they battle with other teams for the only two wild-card positions in the Eastern Conference.

“If you’re in the situation that a handful of us teams are in, your desperation, your urgency is there,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said in Cranberry on Monday. “It’s been there for a bit now.

“Our game has to remain consistent.”

On Tuesday, they played a game that didn’t look like anything they’re bound to see in the playoffs next month (assuming they qualify).

In a chaotic, vacillating contest, the Penguins fell in a sloppy, defensively deficient 7-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.

Former Penguins forward David Perron, who entered the contest on a nine-game slump without a goal, recorded a hat trick in the third period alone, including the winning goal.

Penguins backup goaltender Casey DeSmith, starting his fourth consecutive game, saw his record fall to 14-16-4 as he made 18 saves on 24 shots.

The Red Wings went up by a field goal in the opening period starting with rookie forward Jonatan Berggren’s 13th goal of the season at the 11:03 mark.

Through some precision puck movement around the offensive zone, Red Wings forward Joe Veleno slid a pass from above the left circle to the left of the net, where Red Wings forward Austin Czarnik one-touched the puck to the slot with a forehand pass. Muscling his way past Penguins forward Josh Archibald, Berggren swatted a one-timer that trickled through DeSmith’s five hole and just barely slid across the goal line. Czarniak and Veleno had assists.

Forward Andrew Copp scored his ninth goal only 34 seconds later off a defensive zone turnover by the Penguins.

Chasing down a loose puck in his own right corner, Penguins rookie defenseman P.O Joseph tried to pass it to the near half wall. The intended recipient, Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, was unable to cleanly accept the puck and allowed it to slide to the right point. From there, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider settled the puck, worked his way to the center point and snapped off a wrister toward the cage. Establishing position in the slot in front of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, Copp deflected the puck with his stick over DeSmith’s right shoulder. Seider logged the lone assist.

It became a 3-0 game at the 16:07 mark via forward Dominik Kubalik’s 19th goal.

After gaining the offensive zone on the right wing, Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin curled around at the point and dished a cross-ice pass to Red Wings defenseman Jordan Oesterle. From the left circle, Oesterle fed the puck to the high slot for onrushing Red Wings defenseman Gustav Lindstrom who pumped a wrister into a phalanx of bodies. The puck hit off the right arm of Penguins forward Jason Zucker then the left leg of Kubalik before beating DeSmith’s blocker. Lindstrom and Oesterle were credited with assists.

The Penguins responded with a three-goal salvo of their own in the second period, starting with Zucker’s 25th score of the season.

Showing great patience, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin curled his way from behind the Red Wings’ cage to the left circle and lifted a wrister on net that was denied by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Hovering to the left of the crease, Penguins forward Rickard Rakell shuffled the rebound with a forehand pass to the top of the blue paint for Zucker, who chopped a one-timer past Nedeljkovic’s glove. Rakell and Malkin tallied assists.

Guentzel scored his team-best 33rd goal on a five-on-three power-play opportunity at the 7:46 mark.

With plenty of space to operate in, Crosby snapped a cross-ice pass from the right circle to Letang in the left circle. From there, Letang fed a pass to the slot for Rakell, who stopped the puck with his left skate then offloaded it to Malkin, who gripped and ripped a wrister from the high slot. Battling with Seider above the crease, Guentzel had the puck glance off his left knee and deflect past Nedeljkovic’s blocker. Assists were registered by Malkin and Rakell.

Forward Jeff Carter’s 12th goal tied the game only 55 seconds later on a succeeding five-on-four power-play scenario.

Taking a pass on the left flank, Penguins forward Bryan Rust snapped the puck to the top of the crease, where Carter deflected it on net. The puck found an avenue through Nedeljkovic’s five hole and clunked off the left post before sliding along the goal line and into the left skate of Nedeljkovic. Unaware of the puck’s presence, Nedeljkovic extended his left foot (and the puck) over the goal line and back. Play continued on for a few moments before Nedeljkovic smothered another shot by the Penguins.

Officials initially ruled no goal on Carter’s deflection, but an automatic review reversed that decision. The Red Wings then issued an unsuccessful coach’s challenge on the basis of goaltender interference but wound up with a delay of game penalty. Rust and defenseman Jeff Petry had assists.

The hosts reclaimed a lead 4:05 into the third period thanks to Perron’s 17th goal of the season.

Settling a puck on the right half wall of the offensive zone, Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin flicked a backhand pass across the slot to the left circle for Perron. Accepting the puck, Perron had enough time to pick his shot and sniped a wrister past DeSmith’s blocker on the near side. Larkin had the lone assist.

It took the Penguins all of 81 seconds to respond through Archibald’s sixth goal.

Jumping on a loose puck at the left point of the Red Wings’ zone, Petry banked it off the near wall to the end boards for Penguins forward Drew O’Connor. As Lindstrom battled with O’Connor, the puck bounced around before Archibald emerged with it and swept a forehand wraparound shot from the left of the cage through the five hole of an unsuspecting Nedeljkovic. O’Connor and Letang had assists.

Perron scored the eventual winning goal on a power-play opportunity at the 16:20 mark of the final frame.

Off a faceoff in the Penguins’ left circle, Seider controlled the puck at the left point then chugged his way to the high slot where he slipped a pass low in the left circle for Perron. Stopping the puck, Perron slid a wrister through DeSmith’s five hole to make it a 5-4 contest. Seider and Copp collected assists.

Only 45 seconds later, Perron completed his hat trick.

Settling a puck in the left corner of the Penguins’ zone, Larkin snapped a pass to the high slot. Perron darted past Zucker to take the puck, veered slightly into the left circle and elevated a backhander as Petry largely tried to avoid the shot which beat DeSmith’s right shoulder on the near side. Larkin and Oesterle were credited with assists.

Larkin collected his 27th goal on an empty net at 19:23 off an assist by forward Pius Suter.

Notes:

• The Penguins have allowed at least one opposing power-play goal for six consecutive games.

• Petry returned to the lineup after missing five games due to a suspected head injury.

• With Petry able-bodied, defenseman Taylor Fedun was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

• Officially, Fedun and forward Alex Nylander were healthy scratches.

• Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta was scratched for the sixth consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury.

• The Penguins went over two decades between allowing a hat trick to the Red Wings. Forward Sergei Fedorov scored three goals on goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin in a 7-3 home win at Joe Louis Arena, Oct. 25, 2002.

• Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde was assessed a game misconduct at 11:16 of the third period.

• Nedeljkovic appeared in his 100th career game.