Of Red Wings-related note this morning, mostly regarding the Wings’ 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses the Red Wings’ lessons learned in the team’s loss to Pittsburgh, as the team looks forward to Saturday’s game against Nashville…
“We got away from that first-period game we had,” captain Dylan Larkin said after Thursday’s season-opening dud. “Pucks were just going in, and every time we went out there — we felt like we were doing the right things, but then we just have big-time breakdowns. A lot of sloppy breakouts, sloppy coming back to our zone and finding coverage. Not a good second and third period, not a good start for our season.”
The Nashville Predators, a preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup, come into Little Caesars Arena having lost their opener, too.
In Thursday’s affair at LCA, it was 1-1 after the first period, largely because Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist was superb (outside of letting in a one-timer by Alex DeBrincat). But the second period was everything the Wings spent training camp and exhibition season trying to avoid: Letting the opponent run free.
“I think we had a good first period, and all those goals in the second are self-inflicted,” DeBrincat said. “It seems like we couldn’t keep it out of the net that second period. Hard to battle back from 4-1. We just have to get more juice at the start of the second period.”
Coach Derek Lalonde lamented the Wings’ inability to build on the good start.
“We gave up some easy offense, either through coverage or the puck was on our stick,” Lalonde said. “It was just one of those nights we could not sustain momentum. Had some signs of it, had some spurts of it, but we couldn’t sustain it.”
2. St. James also posted a video of the above-mentioned coach and players speaking with the media last night. The Red Wings didn’t post a post-game clip, and Bally Sports Detroit didn’t post a player clip, either. Did somebody swear on camera?
3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wonders aloud what the Red Wings’ options are if Jeff Petry’s out for a significant period of time:
Already facing a shortage of rights, the Detroit Red Wings saw another one taken away from them in Thursday’s 6-3 season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jeff Petry, one of two right-shot defenseman on the Detroit roster, was departing from the game due to an upper-body injury. His status going forward remains unclear.
“Yeah, upper body,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “Hasn’t been evaluated yet.”
Detroit was able to get through last season without any long-term injuries along the blue line. One game into this campaign, there’s already concern regarding the team’s defensive corps.
Moritz Seider is the only right-shot defenseman currently on the roster. If Petry is to be out long-term, look for right-shot D Justin Holl to be summoned from the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
“We asked all the lefties to play on their off-hand there and we lost a top-four (defenseman in Petry),” Lalonde said.
3. The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood discusses Ville Husso’s rocky performance in the Red Wings’ crease…
Husso’s night lasted just 21 minutes as he let in four goals on 14 shots before being pulled. After coming back from so much in his recovery process, Husso’s performance isn’t what he or anyone else wanted to come next.
“Obviously, (Husso) didn’t look as sharp as he did in the preseason,” Lalonde assessed after the game, noting how little in-game action Husso has seen this calendar year. “Even, you can just tell, some of the rebound control, some things that were sticking to him or he was controlling in the preseason, (he) didn’t tonight.”
What happens when the second hand proves just as frigid?
Cam Talbot, the goaltender signed to be the most proven starter of the three goalies on roster, came in to relieve Husso, but his performance didn’t alleviate the concerns. In 27 minutes and facing as many shots, Talbot let in two goals — three, if you count a Penguins goal overturned due to a challenge for a hand pass. Even with the caveat of having no warm up on an unplanned appearance, Talbot still didn’t answer the call.
So if Detroit is still looking for the hot hand, where does Lalonde go next?
“Obviously Ville did not look overly comfortable tonight which, again, is understandable with the amount of hockey he’s played,” Lalonde said. “But it really hasn’t changed from the exhibition, preseason — all three guys we have some confidence with.”
4. MLive’s Ansar Khan offers the following regarding the Wings’ rough game in general:
“Really good start, probably a little unfortunate to come out of that period tied,” Lalonde said. “Then we couldn’t get momentum. We gave some easy offense either through coverage or the puck was on our stick. It’s one of those nights in which could not sustain any momentum.”
Improving defensively was their top priority after finishing 24th in goals against last season. They need to correct the issue quickly.
“We got away from that first-period game we had,” Larkin said. “I think pucks were just going in. It felt like we were doing the right things but then we would just have big-time breakdowns, and the rest of the game it was a different story every shift, what was breaking down. A lot of sloppy breakouts, slopping coming back to our zone and finding coverage. Not a good second and third period, not a good start for our season.”
Said DeBrincat: “I think there’s plenty to clean up, some good, a lot of bad. We got to be more ready for Saturday.”
5. The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted three observations regarding the Red Wings-Penguins game…
The game was not without positives for the Red Wings, who actually came out quite sharp. They dominated the early run of play, scored the game’s first goal just 3:46 in and had a ton of pressure on an early power play that could have put them in the driver’s seat.
Obviously, the turn the game took in the second period will render most of that easily forgotten, but there were a couple of key performances worth noting even in the loss.
First: Moritz Seider, who despite the tough defensive game for Detroit on the whole graded out with strong underlying numbers. He was on the ice for only one of Detroit’s goals against, and it was the Pettersson floater that had no business going past Husso. His five-on-five on-ice expected goals share, according to Natural Stat Trick, was a very strong 62.88 percent. He was a wrecking ball, racking up six credited hits and setting a physical tone. And he had an assist on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal in the second period, just as a power play had expired.
It might ring hollow in a loss, but considering Seider’s importance to the Red Wings as the centerpiece of the blue line, his performance was worth noting.
Meanwhile up front, Alex DeBrincat’s underlying numbers weren’t nearly as sterling at a five-on-five on-ice xGF% of 26, but he nonetheless finished with a pair of goals (and 3 points) and was consistently noticeable, with the puck and when trying to get it back.
6. And, speaking of Seider, The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe built a team’s worth of “interesting players” to follow this season:
Moritz Seider, Red Wings
Another player with a big new contract to live up to, Seider comes with an additional helping of debate over just how good he really is. After debuting with a Calder Trophy win, Seider seemed like he was on track to join fellow young blueliners like Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes and Rasmus Dahlin in the annual Norris race. It hasn’t happened yet, but he’s only 23 years old. He’s still got time to prove he’s that guy. Only now, he’s got the contract too.
Because it’s early, you get a bonus song as a response to McIndoe:
