The Detroit Red Wings saw their five-game winning streak end against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, and J.T. Compher let everyone know how the Wings set themselves up for failure almost immediately.
Following the game, Compher told NHL.com, “Anytime you take two penalties in the first minutes of the game, it’s going to give the other team a lot of confidence and they get playing their game before we even get most of our guys on the ice.”
Compher's right. Even though the Red Wings killed off those two penalties, it still put the Sabres in the driver's seat, while the Wings never looked in sync. It started with a sluggish first period that saw them land just five shots on goal, with their forward group not finding their groove until the final minute.
Costly mistakes haunted the Detroit Red Wings
Ironically, Compher opened the scoring in the second period when he fired a wrister into the net on assists from Albert Johansson and Jonatan Berggren. But it wasn't enough to give the Red Wings any traction, as they still looked out of sync.
Just over 30 seconds after Compher scored, Dylan Larkin got hit with a high-sticking penalty, crushing any potential momentum the Wings may have otherwise gotten from Compher's goal. The lack of discipline is something you just can't have if you plan on making a playoff run in April, and taking penalties at the worst times will keep you behind the eight ball.
Some of those worst times include the opening minutes and right after your team scores in a game that, up to that point, was a goaltenders' duel. And the Wings committed them in both instances.
This isn't to say that the Red Wings need to ease up
Throughout this test that the back half of October is bringing, the Wings can't afford to ease off the throttle. But they need to play smarter hockey and stop committing mental errors that give inferior teams like the Sabres early momentum.
Those two early penalties affected their play for nearly an entire period, and if they were playing a playoff-caliber squad, the Wings would have lost by four goals. Great teams take full advantage of those costly early mistakes, forcing opponents to change their game plan immediately.
Moving forward, the Wings need to stay out of the penalty box, despite their penalty kill unit playing well for the time being. But they don't need to make things harder on themselves before the first five minutes of the opening frame had gone by.
Hopefully, it's a lesson learned. But if not, then the Sabres won't be the last bad team the Wings lose to because of careless mistakes they can easily avoid.