If you missed last night’s disaster, I seriously envy you.

Facing one of the weakest teams in the NHL, the Red Wings squandered what seemed like a sure victory Friday night. I don’t have anything constructive or kind to say at this time, but I’ll do my best.

Complacency kills

Between the first and second periods, Detroit scored three unanswered goals to make it 3–1. Lucas Raymond scored the third goal about a minute into the second period, and at that point I had a really good feeling about the Wings in this game. They battled through the rest of the period until Trevor Zegras got a PP goal with under three minutes left. The Ducks would score three more goals between that point and with about 8 minutes left in the third. If that isn’t a team with a serious complacency problem, I don’t know what is. This team clearly lacks a ‘winning mentality’. That depends on the players AND the coaching.

A word about goalkeeping

Friday night’s game marked Alex Lyon’s return to the lineup after injury. So there’s probably some rust in his game, but he was NOT good. As much as I want to call out Lyon for playing poorly, the bulk of my grievances revolve around the coach’s decision to start Lyon in the first place. Cam Talbot is having a fantastic season so far – and here’s a good takeaway: he’s been their best player. Why not start Lyon against LA and give Talbot Anaheim and San Jose? Points matter and Talbot gives you the best chance of taking home four points. Is it because they want Talbot to play against his former team? If that is the case, then again there is no ‘winner’s mentality’.

Edvinsson was beaten up

Simon Edvinsson played a good match, but it was cut short due to an injury. We don’t really have much information about severity at this point. Depending on the outcome, this injury could be the worst thing of this match. It’s like putting salt in the wound and then setting it on fire.

On the plus side

My doom and gloom aside, it was really great to see Marco Kasper score his first NHL goal. He has put in a lot of effort for this team and he deserved some reward. Jonatan Berggren also scored a goal (Kasper an assist), so hopefully those two can continue to grow and make this team better (the bar is very low). Both Kasper and Berggren’s goals were on the power play, so that makes it a little sweeter.