Things soured for the Detroit Red Wings a few minutes after the puck dropped, and then it looked bleak — until the final few minutes.

Ville Husso left Monday's game at Little Caesars Arena late in the first period after appearing to suffer a right leg injury when he came down awkwardly doing the splits; by then, the Anaheim Ducks already had a lead.

Klim Kostin left after a collision in the second period, by which time the Ducks had a bigger lead.

The Wings whittled away to pull within a goal with 2:29 to play, bult ultimately ended up absorbing a 4-3 loss, their third in a row and fifth in regulation in the last six games.

Troy Terry had just made it 4-0 when Jeff Petry scored on a slap shot at 2:29 of the second period. Petry had another scoring opportunity a minute later but his wrap-around attempt was kicked away by goalie Lukas Dostal. Shayne Gostisbehere had a shot ricochet off the crossbar during the Wings' third power play, late in the second period.

Alex DeBrincat converted on the fourth man advantage, finishing a setup from Patrick Kane, who recorded his first multipoint game in a Wings uniform. The Wings went on a four-minute man advantage with 4:29 to play, and pulled James Reimer with around 3:30 to play to have two extra skaters. DeBrincat took advantage to score his second of the night.

Larkin returns ...

Dylan Larkin joined the lineup for the first time since a scary incident Dec. 9 when he was injured during a battle in front of Ottawa's net, falling unconscious on the ice after getting punched in the back of the head by Mathieu Joseph and simultaneously crosschecked by Parker Kelly. Larkin ended up missing only four games, welcome news to the Wings, who went 1-3 without him. Larkin started Monday's game on a line with fellow fleet-footed Joe Veleno and recent newcomer Patrick Kane.

Husso leaves

Husso was helped off the ice with 2:37 to play in the first period after suffering an injury; he appeared to favor his right knee/leg. That's the second straight game the Wings have lost a goaltender to injury, as Alex Lyon departed Saturday's 1-0 loss at Philadelphia when he suffered an upper-body injury during the second period. Husso had seven saves on nine shots in 17:23 of playing time. Reimer was in net when the Ducks scored while Justin Holl was in the penalty box, with Adam Henrique converting with 1:11 to play in the first period.

Falling behind

Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas scored 2:23 into the game, firing a shot through traffic and taking advantage of Husso being screened to send the puck bar down into the net. Five minutes later, another defenseman, Paevl Mintyukov made it 2-0 on a good shot, firing the puck down the middle. The Wings didn't muster much in response when they went on a power play at 9:15, and then had to deal with being shorthanded after Kostin's blatant interference on Dostal.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. 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.

Next up: Jets

Matchup: Red Wings (15-12-4) at Winnipeg (18-9-2 entering Monday).

Faceoff: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings lose to Ducks, 4-3, and lose Ville Husso to injury