PHILADELPHIA _ The Detroit Red Wings played more to their identity but couldn't win their third straight game.
They dropped a 4-3 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center despite starting the game strong.
Martin Frk and Mike Green scored on power plays and Gustav Nyquist scored his 10th goal of the season to make it 3-3 after 40 minutes. The Wings weren't able to sustain pressure in the third period. The Wings looked better than the previous night, when they overcame two mediocre periods in New York to top the Islanders at the start of a three-game road trip.
The Wings had an early jump, rushing into Philadelphia's zone and generating chances. Nyquist had a backhand denied by Brian Elliott around two minutes in, and Andreas Athanasiou took off with the puck but lost control before he could get off a good shot. The Flyers pressed back around the midpoint, and Howard had to make a big save on Claude Giroux after a turnover that was the result of Anthony Mantha's stick breaking as he attempted a breakout pass.
Dale Weise scored on a wraparound at 15:19 of the first period, but the Wings went on a power play at 18:54. Frk scored with 1.3 seconds left in the period when he fired the puck into the far corner of the net, after a nice setup by Dylan Larkin. It was Frk's second goal in two games. Green scored for a second straight game, too, at 5:50 of the second period, converting late in a four-minute power play while Mantha screened. Larkin set up Green.
Luke Glendening did not return after the first period because of an upper-body injury suffered as he attempted to block a shot by the Flyers.
The Flyers converted on a power play at 10:48 of the second period when Wayne Simmonds redirected a cross-ice pass from Jakub Voracek, but the Wings grabbed momentum back within a minute, as Nyquist scored at 11:29. Robert Hagg scored on a slap shot through traffic at 13:40 to make it 3-3. The Wings had a 24-21 edge in shots after 40 minutes. Sean Couturier scored a second-chance goal at 5:57 of the third period.
