Red Wings-Maple Leafs wrap-up: losing lessons

The Detroit Red Wings lost an incredibly frustrating 2-0 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit will have no time to feel sorry for itself as the 3-2-and-1 Red Wings finish up their preseason with a home game against the hated Ottawa Senators on Friday night (7 PM on Bally Sports Detroit). Then, we’re presuming, the “B Team” will probably head to Toronto to battle the Maple Leafs again on Saturday (7 PM, no TV as of Friday morning).

For coach Craig Berube’s team, the game was a case of out-checking the Red Wings’ NHL squad until Nick Robertson scored an opportunistic power play goal 17:54 into the first period, out-checking the Red Wings into sleepy submission for another two periods, and affording Robertson the ability to charge through a tired Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry and take a pass from try-out Max Pacioretty to jab into the net behind Cam Talbot 14:34 into the 3rd period.

The Red Wings pulled Talbot twice in the final five minutes of the 3rd period, but a combination of good goaltending from Anthony Stolarz and a lack of “oomph” from the Wings meant that Detroit’s best achievement of their final couple minutes’ worth of play was to not surrender an empty-net goal.

For the Maple Leafs, all went well, as the Associated Press noted:

The 23-year-old Robertson, who signed a one-year, US$875,000 contract with the Leafs on Sept. 10, is up to five goals in the pre-season, all of them coming in the last three games.

“I just like my mentality going out there and using my strength, which is going out there and being a shooter,” Robertson told reporters post-game. “I’m just happy with everyone’s effort tonight, it was a good win for us.”

Max Pacioretty picked up two assists, with Easton Cowan and David Kampf each dishing one.

Anthony Stolarz earned a 30-save shutout in the victory.

“I just liked the way I was able to control some rebounds and was able to see the first shot,” Stolarz said. “I thought I was reading their guys’ releases really well and any second-chance opportunities, the guys in front of me did a great job clearing out, picking up sticks or just letting me see the puck and make the second save.”

Coach Berube was happy with his charges’ efforts…

“I thought that from a work ethic standpoint, we took time and space from them as much as we can and reloaded well,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. “We were above them all night and we checked well.”

And Sportsnet’s Luke Fox reports that there was a wee bit of trash talking when Stolarz stoned former Florida Panthers teammate Vladimir Tarasenko twice via some flashy glove stops:

The Maple Leafs’ plan was to give their No. 2 goalie, Anthony Stolarz, the final pre-season road start against a loaded Red Wings group and No. 1 Joseph Woll his dress rehearsal at home Saturday, with an eye toward starting Woll in Game 1.

Stolarz pitched a 30-save shutout against a legit NHL lineup, punctuated with a windmill glove save in tight on former teammate Vladimir Tarasenko.

“I think he added a little flair there to go with it,” chuckled Steven Lorentz, another Panther-turned-Leaf. “Vladdy came back to the bench with a smile there. Stolly gave it to him a bit, and I did too.”

Both the Hockey News’s David Alter and the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby posted sans-quotes recaps, but now we’ll focus upon the Red Wings’ perspectives. We’ll begin with MLive’s Ansar Khan’s succinct recap, and build from there:

The Red Wings, with nearly their entire regular lineup, didn’t muster a goal against a Toronto team that didn’t travel with its top talent, getting shut out 2-0 in a preseason game at Little Caesars Arena.

Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves for Toronto (3-1-1) and Nicholas Robertson scored a pair of goals.

Cam Talbot went the distance for Detroit (3-2-1), stopping 23 shots.

The Red Wings went 0 for 4 on the power play. Robertson opened the scoring on the power play at 17:54 of the first and added to the lead with 5:26 remaining in the third.

Second-line center J.T. Compher and third-pair defenseman Erik Gustafsson were the only regular skaters who didn’t dress for Detroit.

Coach Lalonde wasn’t overly distressed to lose a game that didn’t count, but he admitted to the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that the team also wanted to win “easy”:

“We probably had a little more compete in our game but it’s just Hockey 101,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “The last three games have been all the same, and you have a young group that is not giving you easy offense and not giving you anything on the rush and guys get a little frustrated because they want it to be easy, which is never going to happen. We have another opportunity (Friday) and you have to ramp up the intensity a little bit if you want any success.”

Toronto’s Nicholas Robertson scored both Toronto goals, a power-play goal in the second period and a third-period tally off a feed from Max Pacioretty, to lift the Leafs.

Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 shots to earn the shutout victory.

Cam Talbot made 23 saves for the Wings, as each of the three Wings goalies (Talbot, Ville Husso, Alex Lyon) continue to put up solid outings.

“Talbot was good, you couldn’t fault him on either goal,” Lalonde said. “He was calm in there and quiet and it was a real good performance from him, and a good camp. Our goaltending has had some consistency and looked solid throughout the camp.”

Coach Lalonde told Kulfan that, well, shit happens sometimes…

“You have to be careful sometimes as these veterans get what they want out of the exhibitions, but the caution with that is it’s hard to just turn it on, too,” Lalonde said. “When that compete and intensity is not at 100 percent, then you combine that with younger guys that are committed to playing through the middle of the ice and getting above (people), this is what it looks like.”

Lalonde reiterated his main points to the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

“A little different than the Pittsburgh game at home the other night, with a lot of our established NHLers in that,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “We probably had a little more compete in our game, but it’s hockey 101 – you get a young group that’s just not giving you easy offense. They’re taking care of the middle of the ice, they’re not giving you anything on the rush. The guys get a little frustrated because they want it to be easy. This has been exhibition season for probably the last 50 years. You have to ramp up the intensity a little bit if you want any success.”

For the Red Wings, it was the third period that they wanted to build upon…

The Wings pulled Cam Talbot with four-plus minutes to play, but their extra-attacker attempt ended when Dylan Larkin was called for an illegal check to the head of Marshall Rifai with 3:18 to play. The Wings finished with 30 shots, with 13 of those coming in the last 20 minutes.

“The third period is what we need to continue – we had a lot of pressure,” Michael Rasmussen said. “We upped our compete and upped our intensity. Some frustration in the first couple periods there, just, I guess, getting back into it and everything maybe not going the way we wanted it to. But, take it, and continue to build.”

And the power play, surprisingly, remains in need of renovations…

Having gone 1-for-6 on power plays in their previous game, the units got a bit of a makeover, with Moritz Seider moving up to play on the first unit with Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and Kane, while Jeff Petry ran the second unit, with Michael Rasmussen, Jonatan Berggren, Joe Veleno and Tarasenko. J.T. Compher wasn’t in the lineup or he’d have been on the second unit, but ultimately, the Wings still need to sync up on their units. A power play in the first period didn’t have an impressive showing by either unit.

The Wings were also shorthanded twice in the first period, and gave up a goal when Robertson was open and able to rip a shot that sank in behind Talbot, at 17:54. The Wings had a second power play in the second period, and two in the first 10 minutes of the third period.

“I still think we can have a little better puck movement,” Lalonde said. “It’s just amazing how – just as long as your power play is creating looks and good touches, it helps the momentum. We had some good looks and movement in the third, and it created some momentum, even though we were not able to score. Still a work in progress. Obviously we want more out of that power play going into next week.”

Coach Lalonde told Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen that Cam Talbot looked quite good…

Part of the improved defense could come in the form of upgraded goaltending. The Red Wings are in the midst of an open goaltending competition and Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso all have goals-against averages of 2.02 or better.

“Talbot was good (vs. Toronto),” Lalonde said. “Couldn’t fault him on either goal. Calm in there, quiet. I think a really good performance in a good camp. Our goaltending has had some consistency and looked very solid throughout camp.”

And he liked what he witnessed from Vladimir Tarasenko, who looked stout and strong, but still in need of some polishing in terms of his buy-in of the Wings’ systems of play, as the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood noted…

“Vlad found himself with some beautiful double Grade-A type looks in the slot,” Lalonde assessed. “You hope these are the type of reps that he gets where maybe they’re finishes early in the season.” Lalonde praised prospect Marco Kasper, who is battling for a spot in the lineup, for his assistance in getting to the net and clearing lanes for Tarasenko to take those shots.

The problem is that Tarasenko is supposed to bring more — cleaner puck touches, a stronger defensive footprint — and so far Detroit hasn’t seen his complete game.

Earlier Thursday, after morning skate, Lalonde reflected on Tarasenko’s performances thus far, saying “like the rest of our guys, we’d like to see him manage his game a little bit better.” He specifically pointed to puck play issues, including turnovers, that have aided opposing teams. These are all details that get worked out in the preseason, and Tarasenko was a little cleaner against Toronto, but he’s still a work in progress.

And Simon Edvinsson was paired with Moritz Seider for the most part, but he took two penalties in 15:58 played, registering 1 shot, 4 shot attempts, a hit, 2 giveaways and a blocked shot. That pairing is also a work in progress, especially for Edvinsson:

“He had some lapses in his game, he had a play on the rush, he turned some pucks back that got himself in trouble,” Lalonde said. “Again, we’re trying to build some consistency in his game.”

Even if the overall result was promising, there are still some details to polish. Lalonde pointed out that Edvinsson hasn’t played in many of these preseason games — in fact, before Thursday he had only appeared in the first exhibition in Chicago. A performance like Edvinsson’s is what you expected when you put a 21-year-old rookie on the top pair. It would have been more shocking if he had delivered an impeccable performance.

“That’s why every minute, every situation, is valuable,” Lalonde explained. “So some valuable minutes for him tonight.”

Perhaps most importantly, Talbot told DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills that he was comfortable in the net, and, for the first time, he looked like the goaltender the Wings signed away from Los Angeles in order to solidify their crease:

“I thought they played pretty well in front of me tonight,” Talbot said. “Obviously just couldn’t bury it at the other end, but sometimes the other goalie makes some big saves. I liked our game tonight. We’ll look over it tomorrow, learn from it, continue to build for the last two [preseason games] and get ready to go in a week.”

Despite the loss, head coach Derek Lalonde said he was encouraged by Detroit’s defensive structure.

“That’s an important part of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Lalonde said. “All of our bigger structure. We’ll look back at that game and grade that out. There were some mishaps. Even watching between periods, a couple of those really good looks they had started with puck play more than structure.”

As much as I care for the Red Wings, and as much as this biased observer admits that I hate the Maple Leafs, I also have to admit that my 33 years as a hockey fan have taught me that the exhibition season has mercifully little to do with the regular season in terms of whether the wins and losses matter. What matters far more is whether the team learns from its mistakes, learns to get its systems play and special teams’ kinks out of the equation, and whether the new players and young players find ways to integrate themselves into the team’s matrix.

This game was unpleasant to watch in no small part because the Red Wings’ star players didn’t out-work the Leafs, and in some measure because it’s Toronto, one of the Red Wings’ “Forever Rivals,” but it appears that the coach and players saw moments for growth embeded in the ball of suck that was Thursday’s result. That counts.

Multimedia:

Highlights: NHL.com posted a 5:04 highlight clip and a 9:58 “Condensed Game.” Again, NHL.com has disabled its embed code…

But the NHL does have a YouTube channel:

Post-game: The Maple Leafs’ website posted clips of coach Craig Berube, goaltender Anthony Stolarz and forward Nick Robertson’s post-game comments;

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a video in which Moritz Seider speaks about playing alongside Simon Edvinsson:

The Red Wings posted an 11:39 clip of Cam Talbot, Michael Rasmussen and coach Derek Lalonde’s post-game remarks: