Detroit Red Wings end road trip with 4-2 loss in first visit to expansion Seattle Kraken

SEATTLE — Alex Nedeljkovic put in another hard night’s work, but the same could not be said for his teammates.

The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up a four-game trip Saturday with their first-ever appearance at Climate Pledge Arena. The NHL’s 32nd franchise entered the game at the bottom of the standings, but the Seattle Kraken outworked the Wings to earn a 4-2 victory.

The Wings (25-30-7) head home with two points from the trip and having lost seven of their last eight games.

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Yanni Gourde scored a go-ahead goal when his shot went in off Moritz Seider’s skate with 6:57, giving the Krane three goals in less than six minutes. Gourde added a second goal into an empty net. Final shots were 41-24 to Seattle.

The Wings got the lead when Joe Veleno and Taro Hirose scored less than three minutes apart. On the second goal, Lucas Raymond took a pass from Moritz Seider and carried the puck into the right circle and fed it to Tyler Bertuzzi, who was near the net. Bertuzzi fired the puck on net, and Hirose connected on the rebound for his first goal of the season and third point in three games since being called up from the minors.

The Wings didn’t play like a team that wanted to close out, though, and the Kraken was rewarded for continuing to work harder. Adam Larsson drove the puck on net and scored at 7:10, and Jaden Schwartz broke away from Troy Stecher and tied the game at 9:54.

Nick Leddy sat out a second straight game as a form of asset protection ahead of a possible trade before Monday’s deadline.

The Wings next play Tuesday, at home against the Flyers.

Nedeljkovic withstands early surge

Nedeljkovic, who made 43 saves Thursday at Vancouver, was just as busy in Seattle. He robbed Morgan Geekie midway through the first period, when…