8 Observations Following the Red Wings 5-2 Loss to Nashville

The Detroit Red Wings lost their first in six games, but there seemed to be a bigger loss if it turns out that Moritz Seider‘s reason for leaving early is a concussion or worse. The first year defenseman took a hit into the boards and his head rattled. Seider looked dazed initially, then tried to steady himself, was haunched over before finally skating off the ice. He went down the tunnel and that was the end of his night. Obviously it’s not good if he’s out for awhile, but his health is of utmost importance.

Here’s hoping he’s okay. Seven other observations:

2: There was also this: 

I’ll be honest in that I totally missed this exchange that started with a tweet from Nolan Bianchi. The Preds responded–and it went about as expected. Red Wings fans responded in kind, so did a few Preds fans and then the Red Wings official account  chimed in.

Social media is a funny thing as it blurs communication in a way where snark is more commonplace be it a handle with a  blue check mark or not. Sometimes even the best intentions of humor go over the line or aren’t intended to seem that way. Other times, it can be downright out of line, and turns into a who-can-one-up-the-other like exchanges.

As an old friend told me back in the early days of the internet where IMs and emails ruled the web, “text is cold.” This isn’t to excuse it–it’s not the best look making a broad statement about the citizens of an entire city with the official Twitter handle of the organization. But hopefully there will be some pause next time before hitting the Tweet button.

#3: This was a game where the Red Wings just looked flat. Outshot. Outhustled. Outplayed in every facet. Alex Nedeljkovic was the only bright spot and kept them in the game for as long as he could. But what a way for the five-game winning streak to end–with an absolute clunker.

4: Michael Rasmussen moved the needle a bit with his second goal of the season, but he had another showing that left something to be desired. Knocked off the puck and some bad turnovers had fans rightly making comments. He’s shifted a bit from just getting his legs underneath him to now being a puzzling case as to what else should Detroit do about him.

5: Filip Zadina was unlucky again on a shot, watching it get snagged with ease, and he dropped his head again. His best shot of the night came when he snapped his stick on the post following Nashville’s empty net goal. That pretty much summed up the night for everyone–fans and players.

6: Lucas Raymond was quieter than usual and the last time he was “out there” a few times he then responded with some big games down the road.

7: Danny DeKeyser is officially a shell of once he what was. This isn’t to rip on him because he just looks off.  This sums up my thinking:

I doubt he’s offered a contract at the end of the season–he looks broken down physically and that’s just not his fault. He’s gone through hell and back in terms of injury and then having to go on Covid Protocol–which obviously affects everyone differently.

8: I still find it much easier to write about a loss following a five game winning streak than last season, where it felt like one losing streak beget another. Though the tide turned slightly near the end of the season when they acquired Jakub Vrana, it was still that sense of foreboding that another loss was around the corner.

Sure, this one was a clunker. But it’s been a heck of a lot more fun watching games, and even in the midst of them trailing last night, there was at least that hope they could rally.

Though it didn’t turn out that way, feeling as such is another indication that things are headed in the right direction.