A guy who used to coach the Detroit Red Wings – in fact, he was coaching the other team Sunday night at Joe Louis Arena – always likes to say that come from behind hockey is losing hockey.

That reality finally caught up to the Wings Sunday, as they dropped a 1-0 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 and scoring the tying goal in the final minute of regulation time and then beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime, the Wings couldn’t find a way to overcome Michael Grabner’s second-period goal.

“When you start on time and you score first it’s harder for teams to battle back on you,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock, reiterating the theory he put forth so many times as Detroit’s bench boss.

The exhilaration the Wings savored after Saturday’s verdict over the Rangers sunk to a bitter low following Sunday’s setback.

“It’s tough,” Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “Yesterday we were on a high and we’re pretty low today after that loss.

“Every game this time of year, especially for us with how close the standings are is a huge game. It’s tough when you don’t come away with points.”

Injury Report
The Wings have lost defenseman Niklas Kronwall for 1-3 weeks after he suffered a sprained knee in Saturday’s game.

“We're estimating one to three weeks, but we'll see,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “You never know how those things heal.”

It’s the opposite knee to the one Kronwall underwent surgery on in January. That cost Kronwall 15 games and now Detroit’s most experienced defender is out again as the Wings fight desperately to maintain a playoff position.

“Certainly it's unfortunate and Nik's obviously a great warrior for us, a great competitor and one of our leaders but our mentality's always been the same,” Blashill said. “We're worried about the guys we have available, not the guys that aren't available.

“I think we were sitting out an NHL defenseman, regardless of who that was, whether that was (Alexey) Marchenko or (Brendan) Smith. So we've got six, I think, good NHL defensemen in the lineup and now our job is to go execute.”

Blashill indicated the team would likely recall a defenseman from AHL Grand Rapids this week.

Darren Helm, who scored twice in the win over the Rangers, missed the game due to flu and the Wings also lost center Pavel Datsyuk for a portion of Sunday’s game when Toronto forward Leo Komarov hit him from behind. Toronto’s Nazem Kadri also got caught in the collision and as he rose to his feet, his left skate blade stepped on the back of Datsyuk’s left knee.

When Datsyuk returned following treatment for what the Wings termed an upper-body injury, the area around his nose was bloodied and there was gauze stuffed into his nostrils, suggesting perhaps a broken nose.

“I’m not sure on that,” said Blashill, who was unhappy that there was no penalty to Komarov on the play.

“Did you guys see the play?” he asked. “You can tell me what you think.

“I think it’s a cheap play.”

Still A Soft Spot
Babcock earned his first win in Detroit since leaving the Red Wings for the Leafs last summer but he suggested there’s still a piece of Hockeytown in his heart.

“I like to win,” Babcock said. “But to be honest with you I’m cheering for Detroit. Detroit’s important for me.

“For anybody who’s involved here, they want to keep getting in the playoffs. So I’m cheering for them every night that they don’t play us.”

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