Talbot shines in return, but the Red Wings lose 4-1 in Philadelphia

Philadelphia – The Red Wings didn’t win on Thursday, but things could have been worse without goaltender Cam Talbot.

The veteran goaltender, returning to the lineup for the first time since his injury on December 1, was great, but the Wings couldn’t take advantage and lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Scott Laughton scored all four goals for the Flyers. Laughton scored in the second half after a series of big Talbot saves, extending the Flyers’ lead to 2-0.

Cam Talbot of the Detroit Red Wings (left) blocks a shot past Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period of an NHL hockey game on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Philadelphia.

Ben Chiarot scored his first goal of the season in the 16th minute and 7 seconds of the third period, cutting the lead to 2-1. But Laughton capped the night with his second career hat trick at 18:53 and added another empty-net goal seconds later, his seventh goal.

The Wings (11-14-4) lost their sixth game in their last seven games (1-4-2). The Flyers (14-12-4) won their second straight game.

“Games like this are frustrating,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “It was a winnable game. There wasn’t a lot of energy in the building the first few periods of the game, but we got the fans involved with the chances we gave them.”

BOX SCORE: Flyers 4, Red Wings 1

“I don’t know why we can’t get going and play a consistent game of hockey. That’s what we’re looking for and it’s really frustrating right now not to have an answer.”

The Wings had an emotional rally and win Monday in Buffalo, scoring six goals and displaying rare offensive prowess. But they couldn’t transfer it.

“We probably had as many chances as we did the other night, but we didn’t have enough chances with our approach,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “That was our mentality, especially at the beginning. We have to put the pucks in the net like we did in the third period.”

Laughton grabbed a loose puck near the point after Simon Edvinsson went too far in on an emergency and unleashed a slap shot from near the top of the circle that beat Talbot for his first goal at 13:22 and gave Philadelphia a 1-1. 0 lead. Then in the third period, Laughton scored his fifth goal by picking off Travis Konecny’s pass on a shorthanded rush.

Talbot made 32 saves and excelled at points in the second half to keep the Wings close. Kolosov stopped 25 shots for the Flyers.

“It’s hard to waste a really good goaltending performance like that,” Lalonde said. “A goalkeeper has four or five games like that and you would like to reward him.”

Talbot was only on the ice for four of these ten days without playing and otherwise worked with the goalkeeper and technical coach. He made a strong impression at the start and built on that as the game progressed.

“I felt really good about my game and made a few big saves to keep us in the game (in the first two periods),” Talbot said. “We continued to play hard throughout the game and scored late, but we couldn’t get the second goal to equalize.”

“It wasn’t like I was completely off the ice (not in the lineup). I would have liked more than one practice (but) I felt good coming into the game, got in the game early, made a few stops and continued to build from there.”

More:The Moritz Seider-Simon Edvinsson pairing gives the Wings hope for long-term defensive stability

The Wings (11-14-4) lost their sixth game in their last seven games (1-4-2). The Flyers (14-12-4) won their second straight game and sixth in 10 games (6-2-2) to clinch a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

In many of these recent losses, the game has been right for the Wings. But Thursday was a little different.

“We gave up too much, one or two players (rushes), that will be a different approach on Saturday (hosting Toronto),” Lalonde said. “We have to correct a little more than before. It’s about finding ways to get points away from home and turn these close games around like we did the other night.”

“If we play right, we’ll turn some of these (games) around. (Thursday) were portions of our game where we got away with it.”

Talbot’s best performance came in the second period as the Flyers gained traction. He parried Joel Farabee on the cross and then stopped Sean Couturier on a breakaway as the Wings’ defense collapsed. Talbot stopped the upset with another big stop just as Edvinsson was called for hooking, stopping star rookie Matvei Michkov on a “Michigan” walk attempt.

“I knew what he was going to do and I did everything I could to get to the other side of the net and make sure I wasn’t on the highlight reel,” Talbot said.

But Laughton broke Talbot with the slap shot on the breakaway in the second period.

“Pretty smart, experienced play from him,” Talbot said. “He fired and blew up. You have to give him credit for a good shot.”

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Talbot shines in return, but the Red Wings lose 4-1 in Philadelphia

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