Detroit Red Wings waste 3-goal lead, win in OT on Sergei Fedorov night

On a night the arena was full of former franchise luminaries, the current Detroit Red Wings, showed they could use a superstar or two in their lineup.

The evening began with a celebration of Sergei Fedorov and ended with the Wings trying to salvage something from a game that began so well for them. The Carolina Hurricanes fought back from a three-goal deficit on Monday, Jan. 12 at Little Caesars to take it past regulation.

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Detroit Red Wings playoff position

The Wings pulled out a 4-3 victory when Andrew Copp scored in overtime to move into first place in the Eastern Conference at 28-15-4. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, one point and two points back in the Atlantic Division, respectively, also won on Monday to keep pace with the Wings. (The Bolts and Habs have also played fewer games this season.) The Wings next head to Boston to face an Atlantic rival in the Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT).

TO THE RAFTERS: Sergei Fedorov No. 91 rises as ex-Red Wing regrets Detroit departure

Three up, and then the third period

James van Riemsdyk, Alex DeBrincat and Albert Johansson scored to give the Wings a 3-0 lead after two periods. Jackson Blake spoiled John Gibson's bid for a second straight shutout with a five-hole power play goal at 4:44 of the third period. It's one thing to get scored on while killing a penalty, but the Wings then suffered the indignity of giving up a shorthanded goal to Seth Jarvis at 7:56.

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The response wasn't great, either: The Wings got pinned in their own zone, relying on Gibson to keep the score in their favor. Then they were called for consecutive penalties that overlapped by 91 seconds; sure enough, the 'Canes tied it up on a goal from former Wings defenseman Shauyne Gostishbehere, with three minutes to play in regulation. Gibson made 30 saves through three periods to 15 from his counterpart, as the WIngs were outshot 14-5 in the third period.

Late start and an early lead

The game started at 7:27, pushed back by Fedorov's number retirement ceremony. But it didn't take long for the Wings to make an impact. Marco Kasper drew a tripping penalty on Jacob Slavin 37 seconds after the first puck drop – well, after the ceremonial one dropped by Fedorov – and less than a minute after that, the Wings had a lead.

Van Riemsdyk extended his point streak to four games when he caught Moritz Seider's rebound just outside the crease and backhanded it past Frederik Anderson, 92 seconds in. That was van Riemsdyk's 12th goal of the season.

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DeBrincat doubled the lead less than two minutes into the second period when he snapped Copp's pass into Carolina's net, scoring for the 24th time this season. Just short of the five-minute mark, Johansson netted his first goal of the season. DeBrincat had the puck along the blue line and passed to Patrick Kane, who threaded a pass from the top of the right circle, timing it perfectly for Johansson to lift a shot into the net for a 3-0 lead. DeBrincat finished with a goal and two assists, including the helper on Copp's winning goal.

'Hockey Gods' in the house

It was a star-studded audience that watched the Wings battle one of the top teams in the league: Fedorov, of course, and Steve Yzerman was there as usual being the general manager, but next to him in the management suite sat Brendan Shanahan. Nicklas Lidström was in attendance, too, as was Chris Chelios, all members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings waste 3-goal lead, but beat Hurricanes in OT, 4-3