8 Observations from the Red Wings 5-3 Loss in Columbus

The Detroit Red Wings played an excellent third period but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Jackets  scored three unanswered goals and came away with a 5-3 victory.

The line of Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Lucas Raymond were on fire again and paced the Red Wings with two goals.

Here are eight observations from a disappointing loss in Columbus.

#1: Thomas Greiss was spectacular.  If it wasn’t for Thomas Greiss, the Red Wings would have been blown out of this game by the end of the second period.  The Blue Jackets came at the Red Wings in waves, especially in the second period and, Greiss made one save after another.  Greiss made 33 saves on the night.

#2: Michael Rasmussen finally scores.  Michael Rasmussen continues to work hard and it paid off in the second period when he shot the puck after crossing the blueline for his first goal in 28 games.  The coaching staff continues to preach about shooting the puck and Rasmussen was fortunate for his efforts.

#3: Raymond to Larkin.  Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin are starting to show a great deal of chemistry.  You could see it Saturday night after Larkin scored the game winner in OT.  On Monday, the chemistry was evident again as Raymond knew exactly where Larkin was situated when he fed a perfect pass to Larkin to make the game 1-0.

#4: The PK has been solid.  The PK continues to thwart other teams from scoring with the man advantage and Monday was no exception, as the Red Wings penalty killers held Columbus to 0/3 on their PP.

#5: The Red Wings are continuing to win faceoffs at an alarming rate.  On Monday, the Red Wings won 56% of all faceoffs led by Larkin who won 67% and Joe Veleno who won 60%.

#6: Danny DeKeyser continues to struggle.  Even though it may have been DeKeyser’s best game, he continues to be pushed off the puck, is out of position, and can’t keep up with the play.  To be fair, DeKeyser did have six shots on goal and three blocked shots but, he isn’t the right defense partner for Moritz Seider.  The pair are struggling together in the defensive zone and maybe a change to Marc Staal would be the best thing for the rookie rearguard.

#7: Zadina’s struggles continue.  How long is Coach Blashill going to go in the season before he takes Filip Zadina off the Suter/Fabbri line?  Zadina only played 12:32 on Monday and still led the Red Wings with two giveaways.  He only has two goals in his first 16 games and at some point a message needs to be sent to the young forward.

#8: Adam Erne is always effective.  Erne played another solid game for the Red Wings.  On Saturday he had seven hits and Monday he led the Red Wings with six hits.  The line of Erne, Rasmussen and Namestnikov continue to play well at both ends of the ice.