MONTREAL (AP) The Detroit Red Wings were knocked out of playoff contention once again on Tuesday night, and it hardly could have come in more gut-wrenching fashion.

Patrick Kane scored the shootout winner in a 5-4 Detroit win over the Montreal Canadiens in their regular-season finale, completing a comeback after a dramatic game-tying goal from David Perron with 3.3 seconds left in regulation.

But it didnā€™t matter.

The Red Wings entered the night tied with Washington for the Eastā€™s second wild-card spot with 89 points, but the Capitals held the tiebreaker over Detroit with more regulations wins.

Meanwhile, Washington was visiting Philadelphia, and the 87-point Flyers needed a regulation win and a Detroit regulation loss to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Just after the Red Wings celebrated Perronā€™s heroic, game-tying goal, the Flyers, not realizing that Detroit had forced overtime and effectively ended their season anyway, pulled the goalie with three minutes remaining in a 1-1 tie with Washington to attempt a win in regulation.

T.J. Oshie, however, quickly scored into the empty net to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead, and Washington ultimately booked its ticket to the post-season.

ā€œThe way it played out, you canā€™t even make that up,ā€ Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said.

Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist, while Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno and David Perron also scored for Detroit (41-32-9). James Reimer stopped 29 shots for Detroit.

The Red Wings prevailed in a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory over the Canadiens on home ice a day earlier.

And despite pulling off another jaw-dropping comeback on Tuesday, Detroit will miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season.

ā€œWe just wouldnā€™t go away, we wouldnā€™t die. Comeback after comeback,ā€ said Dylan Larkin, who added the Red Wings found out theyā€™d be packing their bags for the off-season before the shootout.

ā€œTo hear the way it went down, I guess, that stings. Our group, very resilient, came back in the game and you know, itā€™s just very unfortunate.ā€

Brendan Gallagher and Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist, while Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal (30-36-16). Cayden Primeau made 36 saves.

Canadiens fans got a first glimpse of some up-and-coming blueliners in the organization. Logan Mailloux made his NHL debut after spending the entire season with the American Hockey Leagueā€™s Laval Rocket. The 21-year-old produced one assist for his first NHL point.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Lane Hutson showed his moves, received loud applause and produced a crucial assist playing at the Bell Centre for the first time. He debuted Monday in Detroit, where he earned one assist.

ā€œThe crowd was awesome ā€¦ I kind of feed off of it,ā€ Hutson said. ā€œItā€™s really cool. I mean theyā€™re some smart fans. They know when a play can happen and you hear it all game, so itā€™s really special.ā€

Down 3-2 after 40 minutes, the Red Wings tied the game 3:31 into the third period with a shot from behind the net that banked off Primeauā€™s pads and into the net.

Slafkovsky put Montreal back ahead with his 20th of the season, deflecting a point shot from Hutson at 12:46.

With Detroitā€™s season on the line and the goalie pulled, Perron equalized with a one-timer off an offensive zone draw after a questionable icing call went against Montreal with seven seconds left.

It kept the Red Wingsā€™ season alive, only momentarily.

ā€œItā€™s crazy, it stings a lot obviously,ā€ Perron said. ā€œFrom going to look at the clock, thereā€™s seven seconds, and then scoring that goal and then coming back to the bench, you kind of hear (weā€™re out) not too long after that.

---

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.