LAS VEGAS — The Detroit Red Wings needed to right themselves after a tough start to March and a rough one to a road trip passing its halfway point.

They came into Saturday's game at T-Mobile Arena humbled by opponents at the top and bottom of the standings. The Vegas Golden Knights, freshly strengthened by adding coveted defenseman Noah Hanifin, had their own four-game losing streak to overcome. The Wings, playing for the third time in four days, looked significantly better, but it wasn't enough to avoid losing, 5-3.

Losers of five straight, the Wings (33-25-6) have dropped to the second wild-card position with just a two-point lead on the New York Islanders.

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Goalie James Reimer withstood a barrage from the Knights and Moritz Seider's shot led to deflected goals by Michael Rasmussen late in the first period and J.T. Compher early in the third period. Midway through the period, Brayden McNabb put the Wings in the hole when his shot went in off Seider, but Shayne Gostisbehere leveled that lead inside of a minute. That goal made Gostisbehere the 13th Red Wing to score at least 10 goals this season.

The Wings were coming off an embarrassing performance the previous night in Tempe, Arizona, a 4-0 loss to the Coyotes, a team headed for the draft lottery. That followed losses to a pair of elite opponents — the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers. Reimer's play sustained his teammates as they got their legs going, and he had topped 30 saves when Jonathan Marchessault scored his second of the night, on a rebound, with 2:44 to play. The net was empty when he completed his hat trick with 67 seconds remaining.

The Wings opted to stay in Vegas until Monday, and then fly directly to Buffalo, where they'll finish the trip Tuesday against the Sabres.

Recalibrated

Jonatan Berggren's arrival from the minors enabled a lineup of 12 forwards again, after Klim Kostin's trade departure Friday left them with 11. (Dylan Larkin is out until at least mid-March with a lower body injury.) He was slotted to play on a line with Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond, while J.T. Compher moved up to center Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen were put on the same line (with David Perron), reuniting a duo that has clicked in the past. There were changes on the back end, too, most notably pairing Moritz Seider with Ben Chiarot and scratching Jake Walman.

Whew

The relief from the Wings' bench when they got a goal in the final minute of the first period was almost audible. The Golden Knights were already up 2-0, on goals from Pavel Dorofeyev and Marchessault, and Reimer was dealing with wave upon wave of Vegas attacks, facing 19 shots the first 20 minutes. There were 27.3 seconds left on the clock when Rasmussen tipped Seider's shot to halve Vegas' lead. That was the Wings' first goal dating to the first period of the Colorado game on Wednesday.

Keeping it close

Reimer faced another dozen shots in the second period, including denying Marchessault twice while Perron was in the penalty box. The Wings got a power play at 6:16 when Marchessault was assessed a double minor to one roughing call on Compher. The Wings were able to use the stretch to build some momentum, drawing energy from DeBrincat buzzing in the right circle and testing Vegas goalie Adin Hill.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' skid hits 5 with 5-3 loss to Vegas Golden Knights