The Detroit Red Wings cannot catch a break in November. After seemingly holding the Florida Panthers‘ number, they lost in the worst way.
If you turned the game off after Detroit jumped out to a 4-1 lead, you would have been surprised to see the Panthers storm back with four unanswered goals in the game’s final 20 minutes and 18 seconds.
Gustav Forsling scored on a wrist shot at 19:42 in the second period to kickstart the comeback win. If you’re Detroit, you may wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t allowed that goal. Would it have prevented the comeback win? It at least would have made Florida’s effort a little harder.
Now, it’s worth wondering what went wrong. Red Wings veteran J.T. Compher weighed in. Via Jonathan Mills of DetroitRedWings.com, Compher said, “We didn’t do a good enough job attacking in the third period. Sat back too much.”
In other words, Detroit stopped playing the game that helped them jump out to a 4-1 lead. Given the way Detroit had been lethargic offensively throughout their four-game losing streak leading up to Thursday night, something else is worth wondering:
Did they start figuring things out offensively? Or did they enjoy two decent offensive periods before reverting to a team that lacked scoring prowess?
J.T. Compher Identifies Red Wings’ Costly Mistake
Compher shared everything that a team shouldn’t do against a high-powered group like the Panthers. No, Florida hasn’t shown that they are an elite hockey team yet this season. But they have shown that they can score on virtually anyone when they pick up steam.
Since Oct. 13 and heading into Thursday, Florida has boasted an 8-5-0 record with 48 goals scored and 39 allowed. Their goal total averaged 3.7 per game.
Against a team that had scored at least four goals in six of their last 13 games, you can’t sit back the way Compher said Detroit did. Florida will make opponents pay for trying to put the game in cruise control every single time.
It also came down to who wanted to win this game more. That might sound cliched, but Detroit only blew Florida out in blocked shots, 18 to 7 on Thursday. The Panthers edged out the Red Wings at the faceoff dot, outmuscled Detroit, and took advantage of Detroit’s 19 giveaways.
Detroit Is Once Again In Learning Mode After Blowing Winnable Game
If this losing streak brings anything good to Detroit, it is that the Red Wings can learn more than a few lessons. The lesson on Thursday night? Play the game that gave you a 4-1 lead for 60 minutes. That would have won you the game.
Detroit should have also learned what doesn’t work in the offensive zone. Opponents outscored them 13-5 in the four losses that led to the Panthers game.
What’s more? They have two straight Atlantic Division games coming up. Detroit will visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Their previous loss to Tampa kickstarted this losing streak. Then, they return home to face the Boston Bruins.
If there is a chance to learn from the mistake Compher outlined, the Tampa and Boston games would be a good time to learn them.
Red Wings’ Veteran Admits What Caused Detroit’s Collapse In Panthers Loss