The Red Wings faced off with the Montreal Canadiens last night, looking to rebound from a rough loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, but they would lose in overtime 3-2. Here are some takeaways from the tough loss.
Red Wings First Period Struggles Continued
The Red Wings came out and played a slightly better Tuesday night, but they once again found themselves in a hole after the first 20 as they once again went down 1-0 and were outscored 8-1 in the first period over the last eight games. It was also the fourth time in the previous seven games they trailed after the first period; in those games, they are 1-3-1.
Moritz Seider Is Turning Into an Enforcer
As of late, Moritz Seider has been in the middle of every scrum and hasn’t backed down from anyone. In the third period, after an offside call, Brendan Gallagher ripped a shot on James Reimer, and Seider took exception and got into it with Gallagher along the boards. It’s a happy site that something changed from last year; maybe it was the Senators game where he realized someone had to stand up for the team, and he took it upon himself to be that guy; it’s been a pleasant site for sure.
Reimer Is Reliable
It’s been a 360 from last season when Derek LaLonde said it’s not Ville Husso and they are going the backup; last season, you felt like a loss was coming, but with Reimer in net this season as the backup, you have to feel like you still have a chance and last night he looked good despite the overtime loss and kept you in the game which allowed you to get the nice bounce for a goal from Christian Fischer and a beautiful goal from J.T. Compher. He stopped 23 of 26 shots, and unfortunately, he might feel the loss because the penalty he caused led to that goal, but he still didn’t look bad.
No Call Hurts Wings
In overtime, a holding-the-stick call was made against Reimer, resulting in Montreal going on the power play, which ultimately led to the goal that won the game for the Canadiens. Still, there was no call in the third on the hit by Jordan Harris on Austin Czarnik that put Czarnik into the boards. Derek LaLonde was also not happy with the no-call and said this.
“Five minutes left and he gets barreled into the boards. The classic push on the hip and he’s out for the rest of the game. Could’ve broken his leg and (referee) Brandon (Blandina) decides not to call that? I’m just disappointed in that one, because Harris could’ve hurt him seriously. It sounds like he might be OK.”
Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive
That could have given Detroit a power play, and they could have capitalized and led to a win, but that’s a shoulda coulda woulda situation. they ended up losing, but it was a terrible no-call that could have cost Detroit the game.
Something Has To Change
Last night, the team just looked out of sync, and they have for the past few games, aside from the win over the Bruins. It may be time to juggle the lines and see if things can gel better. For the second consecutive game, Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat didn’t register a point, and aside from the Bruins game, they haven’t had a point since October 26th for Larkin, and it’s been since October 24th for DeBrincat. A change needs to be made there, and you have the first line of Larkin, David Perron, and Lucas Raymond. I don’t know what could fix it, but something needs to be done.
Next Up:
The Red Wings return to the ice Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who they beat back on October 16 in a 4-0 shutout by Reimer.
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On the power play they need to shoot at the net, and with a quick release, and not make the extra pass, just overhandling the puck in the offensive zone.