The Red Wings knew this was coming.
They knew the New York Rangers visiting Detroit Thursday night were one of the best outfits in the NHL. They knew their opponent’s goaltending would be crisp, and their power play dominant. They knew they had to overcome these strengths — through defense, through buy-in, through adjustment — to earn a redeeming win amid a difficult start to the season.
They didn’t, and because of that, the Red Wings (1-3-0) have to stomach another lopsided loss. And no matter how tough a stretch they have faced to start the season, pressure is mounting on Detroit to prove its merits at the onset of a season filled with so much hope and hype. The team it wanted to be this season — with sound goaltending, decisive special teams and especially defense — has yet to show up. Thursday’s loss only adds more pressure.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
“Everything at the beginning of the season is magnified,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said after the loss. “You’re gonna go through these type of stretches throughout the year. It just happens to be on the front end. And again, we knew it’d be a tough stretch, just a little frustrating the way some of these have played out.”
Knowing the stretch would be tough or not, the Red Wings have shown little response to their slow start. The same struggles — defense, goaltending, and a lack of finishing on offense — have reared in all three losses, and they were prominent again Thursday.
The Rangers (3-0-1) spent a lot of time in Detroit’s end to start the first period, but three and a half minutes of power play time gave the hosts life and momentum. The Red Wings failed to convert on these chances, however, including an Alex DeBrincat shot that missed a wide open net and a loose puck drill that New York cleaned up first.
Despite Detroit building a 13-1 edge in unblocked shot attempts as tracked by ESPN, forward Artemi Panarin scored on the Rangers’ very first shot 8:30 into the game, the opening move for would snowball into a hat trick and four-point night for the Russian superstar. That all included his team’s second goal, which put New York up 2-0 going into the first intermission.
The Red Wings came into the second period with a chance to change momentum…