Wild's four-game points streak ends with 2-1 loss at Detroit

The streak is over.

After back-to-back wins, the Wild were dealt a 2-1 loss by the Red Wings on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena and failed to pick up at least a point for the first time during this five-game road trip that concludes on Sunday in Chicago.

How the Wild lost: Detroit's Lucas Raymond scored twice, breaking a 1-1 tie with five seconds remaining in the second period to spoil Wild backup goalie Filip Gustavsson's second start of the season.

Gustavsson finished with 23 saves, while Ville Husso had 30 for the Red Wings.

"Gustavsson was fantastic all night," Wild coach Dean Evason told reporters in Detroit. "It's a shame he didn't get rewarded for his effort."

Kirill Kaprizov capitalized first, just 1:28 after the opening faceoff, when he kept the shot during a 2-on-1 rush for his team-leading sixth goal and second in as many games.

But Detroit wasn't deterred.

Actually, the Red Wings were a handful down low, with Raymond's first tally of the night — a far-side, top-shelf shot — coming with 3:09 left in the first after strong cycle play in Wild territory.

Raymond later delivered the go-ahead goal on the power play from in tight, jamming the puck in off Gustavsson. Detroit captain Dylan Larkin earned his second assist of the game on the play.

"It's tough," Gustavsson told reporters in Detroit. "You know there's so little on the clock there, and I have to respect the shooter there and he makes a pass backdoor and he kind of fans on it a little bit. It hit my back leg on the dragging leg there, so it's super frustrating."

Turning point: Not building on their early lead stung the Wild (3-4-1) because once the Red Wings settled into the action, they defended well.

The Wild had 12 more shots in the first period after Kaprizov scored but couldn't convert. Kaprizov and linemate Frederick Gaudreau combined to test Husso 10 times.

But Husso stymieing the Wild is nothing new; the former Blues goaltender improved to 6-0 all-time vs. the Wild during the regular season.

"We didn't spend enough time down there," Evason said. "When we had opportunities to hold onto some pucks and make plays, we just blindly threw pucks out from behind the net or just threw it into the slot."

In the second, the Wild had their lone power play but managed just two shots; Detroit went 1-for-2.

Fast forward to the third where the Wild had 11 scoring chances compared to one for the Red Wings, according to Natural Stat Trick, but none of those looks translated to any offense.

"They collapse low," rookie defenseman Calen Addison told reporters in Detroit. "Any team that collapses into the house towards their paint it's obviously hard to get inside. We just gotta keep creating confusion, keep working teams low and wait for opportunities to open up."

Over the last seven minutes, the Wild had only two shots and just one after they pulled Gustavsson for an extra attacker. Last season, the team thrived in that scenario, racking up an NHL-high and franchise-record 19 goals at 6-on-5.

Again, give Detroit credit.

The Red Wings are the first team this season to limit the Wild to less than three goals. They blocked 19 shots, but the Wild also had 13 pucks sail wide.

"We don't get opportunities by being a cute hockey team," Evason said. "We're grit with skill, and we thought that we were just skill tonight."

What it means: This is the Wild's first regulation loss in five games, but the outcome still felt like a missed opportunity.

The Red Wings aren't at full strength, and they suffered two lopsided defeats ahead of this matchup to lose some of the momentum from their solid start.

Still, the Wild can return home to St. Paul on the upswing with a productive performance against the Blackhawks.

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.