8 observations from the Red Wings 5-2 loss to the Islanders

In an upsetting 5-2 road loss to the New York Islanders, the Red Wings did not come into the game with the same mindset that they carried Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.

Here are 8 observations from a disappoints loss.

1. Chase Pearson played in his 1st NHL game. The son of retired NHL player Scott Pearson, Chase made his career debut at age 24 after being selected by Detroit in the 5th round of the 2015 draft. He has been playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season, but was called up last night to help fill in the gaps left by Filip Zadina and Givani Smith. Pearson was on the fourth offensive line between Adam Erne and Sam Gagner and logged just under eight minutes of ice time. Congrats to Pearson on the start of his NHL career!

2. Givani Smith and Filip Zadina both out of the lineup. It was announced yesterday prior to the game that both players would be out of the lineup against the Islanders- Smith with an injury and Zadina with a cold. Both are considered day-to-day and more updates will come prior to Saturday’s game. Being down a full offensive line has caused a lot of shake-ups in the lines- most notably Michael Rasmussen being in Zadina’s spot on the first line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

3. Islanders score just nine seconds into the game. Before anyone had a chance to blink, the Islanders goal horn sounded as the puck slipped past Greiss for the first time of the evening. Filip Hronek lost his stick while battling for the puck and Marc Staal wasn’t quick enough to react to the pass right in front of the goal- allowing his man to find the back of the net.

4. Thomas Greiss with yet another poor performance. Greiss started against his former team although having a dismal record as of the last few games while Alex Nedeljkovic has been on a red hot streak. Was starting Greiss a questionable decision? Yes, especially when given the way he has performed for the entirety of this season aside from a handful of good games. Greiss had to leave the game because of injury after a collision with an Islanders player.  Greiss allowed three goals on 16 shots, giving him an .813 SV%.

5. Detroit was unable to find the back of the net. While ultimately the Red Wings outshot the Islanders 39-26, the Red Wings did not score until the final ten minutes of the game. Dylan Larkin was responsible for seven shots on goal but was unlucky in racking up any points. Regardless of if the shots were being placed poorly or if Sorokin was just having an insanely good night- the Red Wings offense showed up to take the shots but fell flat on scoring goals.

6. Still struggling on the road. In Tuesday’s game against the Flyers, the Red Wings came out hot and ready to fight for a win but that energy immediately vanished the second they were not playing on the LCA ice. Throughout the entire 2021-22 season, the Red Wings have had very minimal luck on the road for the most part. Last night was no exception as they fell flat against a team they could’ve put up a great fight against had they played the way they did two days prior.

7. Pius Suter and Sam Gagner rallied two goals late in the 3rd period. When all hope seemed to be dashed, Suter put the Red Wings on the board at 13:37 in the 3rd period- making it a 4-1 game. Gagner’s goal would follow just under two minutes later which was assisted by Jakub Vrana- his 1st assist of the season.

8. By no means a great game but at least the Red Wings did not get shut out. With the way the game was going by the start of the third period, a shutout seemed somewhat inevitable. When the Red Wings get knocked down that fast into a game, oftentimes they are just immediately slowed down and cannot get back up to speed. This game was no exception with poor defensive plays, scrambling goalies, and offense that just can’t finish plays- everyone was able to finally have a positive to point to as Suter scored his 13th goal of the season. Two goals are better than no goals- even in a 5-2 loss!

The Red Wings return to Detroit to face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning this Saturday in what will be a very tough game. Hopefully being back home will be an advantage to the Wings but they need more than just that in order to put up a real fight.

In a post-game interview, captain Dylan Larkin was quoted as having said- “we have to find a way to win on the road and we have to find a way to start games better.”