Poor penalty killing ruined the Red Wings’ strong start in their loss to the Devils

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings got off to a great start Friday, playing one of their best games of the season for more than halfway through the first period.

However, they couldn’t hold on and the New Jersey Devils fought back from a two-goal deficit to beat the Red Wings 5-4 at Little Caesars Arena.

The Devils (16-8-2) scored three power play goals against the league’s worst penalty kill. Jack Hughes’ power-play goal at 3:05 of the third period gave New Jersey a 5-3 lead and was the game-winner against Cam Talbot, who was playing in his 500th game.

The Red Wings (10-11-2) had won their last two games.

Lucas Raymond scored for the fifth time in a row. Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte and Justin Holl also had goals for Detroit.

Holl’s goal, his first as a Red Wing, came just 22 seconds after Hughes’ goal. The Red Wings had several chances to equalize in the third period, but were unable to get another chance past Jakob Markstrom.

The Devils improved to 14-0-0 and led after two periods.

Stefan Noesen snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Devils the lead for the first time at 16:49 of the second minute in a frantic battle at the net.

Motte gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead at 1:26 when he fired off a shot from Ben Chiarot. It was his first goal in eleven games with the team.

Nico Hischier shot from the slot to make it 11:10 after the Red Wings turned the puck over and didn’t get into the game.

The Red Wings dominated the first 15 minutes of the game and led 2-0 with goals from Tarasenko and Raymond

Tarasenko’s power-play goal at 3:41 was his first in 17 games and just his third of the season.

Raymond scored a wraparound against Markstrom at 9:22. He has scored six goals in his last eight games and seven this season.

However, the Devils equalized with two power play goals on the NHL’s worst penalty kill.

Dougie Hamilton scored nine seconds into a power play at 16:05. This led to another Devils power play as the Red Wings received a delay of game penalty because their appeal for goaltending interference was unsuccessful after a lengthy review. They believed that Stefan Noesen cutting in front of the net hindered Talbot’s ability to save the ball.

Timo Meier shot a one-timer from the cross five seconds before the end of the power play.

The Red Wings host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (12:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network), capping five of six home games.