Red Wings Give up Five in the Third, Lose to Chicago 7-2

Any hopes of the Detroit Red Wings moving that win streak to three were dashed after the mid way point of the third period. Detroit peppered Chicago all night with shots, but could only muster a couple goals, falling to the Blackhawks 7-2. And if you didn’t hear from NBC, Patrick Kane scored a  milestone goal or something.

The third period was utterly ugly for Detroit, as defensive lapses, and poor positioning just doomed any hope of a comeback.  Detroit had looked good leading up to this game but boy did it unravel quick in the final twenty minutes tonight.

Some good news was Evgeny Svechnikov notching his second goal in as many games, showing that yes, he does indeed belong up with the big club for the remainder of this season. It was the Red Wings’ second consecutive game with a power play goal after going 0 for 40.

The Goals

Final Thoughts

• Once upon a time I remember the Red Wings taking the Blackhawks to task for being a lousy hockey club for at least a decade. Tonight it was reversed. There really isn’t an easier way or enough superlatives to say just how awful that third period was to watch.
• Anthony Mantha was in the crosshairs of many in the fanbase tonight–especially when appeared to glide instead of back check during the Blackhawks first goal of the evening. He disrupted a scoring chance later in the third but again, it was a pretty forgettable night for the big forward.
• Thomas Greiss sums it all up well. Hung out to dry for most of the night and then shatters his stick—twice–after giving up the seventh goal.

The Red Wings take on Columbus Tuesday, and then head to Carolina Thursday before they mercifully get a few days off to rest up. There’s no doubt that not having Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, or Tyler Bertuzzi would catch up to them and it absolutely did tonight.