The Detroit Red Wings are officially facing a little adversity after losing their third consecutive game and second in a row at Joe Louis Arena. The Colorado Avalanche jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods and then held on for a 4-3 win.
After winning 23 consecutive home games, the Red Wings were flying high and cruising through the season as the top team in the Western Conference. But since losing that home streak in an overtime shootout to Vancouver on Thursday and then tacking on another loss on Saturday night, Detroit has also lost its grip on the top spot in the West, falling one point behind the Canucks.
Left winger Gabriel Landesko scored two goals to pace the Avalanche while right winger Steve Downie scored one goal and assisted on two other. The tone for the game was set early as David Jones scored a shorthanded goal for Colorado to put the Avs up 2-0 less than three minutes into the game.
Detroit rallied late with three third period goals. Center Jiri Hudler scored the first two goals and then assisted on Valtteri Filppula's goal which would end the scoring for the Red Wings. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere saved 28 shots to secure the win for Colorado.
To make matters worse, the Red Wings lost defenseman Jonathan Ericsson with a broken wrist in the second period. Detroit will try to get better on Tuesday when they travel to Columbus to take on the last place Blue Jackets.
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