Red Wings must figure out their defense against Maple Leafs

The Detroit Red Wings had an Opening Night to forget on Thursday night against the Canadiens. The game started fantastically with a Dylan Larkin power play goal in the first period.

But after that initial momentum faded, the Habs took over. Montreal scored five in about a period and a half. The outcome was John Gibson parting toward the end of the second period.

It was a tough way for Gibson to end his first regular-season outing in a Red Wings uniform. But the blame can’t be placed solely on Gibson.

The reality is that the Red Wings' defense let Gibson down for the most part. Two particular instances stand out. These situations are ones the Wings cannot repeat on Saturday night. Otherwise, the vaunted Maple Leafs offense could make minced meat out of Detroit.

Here’s a look at the first instance:

On this play, the lost draw came back to the point. Cole Caufield let the shot go, with Gibson making the initial save. However, Albert Johansson was unable to corral the rebound. The scrum in front of the net allowed the Canadiens’ players several whacks at the puck until it found the back of the net.

Meanwhile, everyone else around Johansson was puck watching. The other players were far too late to support Johansson. The Wings’ blueliner could not deal with both Canadiens on the doorstep.

Now, here’s another instance:

In this sequence, Canadiens’ blueliner Mike Matheson made Ben Chiarot look silly. The rush started with Nick Suzuki pumping the brakes. The hard stop allowed Matheson to set up for the shot.

Meanwhile, Chiarot was caught off position. He made a good move by going down to block the shot. But it was his slow reaction to Suzuki’s pass. There was a brief moment in which Chiarot stood there, watching Suzuki. Once Chiarot realized Suzuki was passing, Matheson let the shot rip.

It’s worth pointing out that Chiarot’s miscue wasn’t an earth-shattering one. Had Gibson made the save, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But Gibson didn’t bail his teammates out. He had a clear line of sight, but just couldn’t stop the puck.

The goal was a back-breaker as it made the game 3-1 with about seven seconds to go in the first period.

Maple Leafs' offense could make Red Wings pay big time

The Red Wings pulled out an entertaining 6-5 comeback win against the Maple Leafs’ AHL lineup in their last preseason game. However, the Wings will face the Leafs’ top club on Saturday night.

That situation means the Wings will need to be on their best defensive behavior. That will mean keeping the Leafs’ speedy wingers like William Nylander to the outside. Power forward Matthew Knies will try to crash the net and create some chaos.

Then, there’s Auston Matthews. As long as Dylan Larkin can do his usual defensive voodoo, Larkin and Matthews could cancel each other out.

So, the game could come down to each team’s bottom six making the difference. The Wings have depth and experience to match Toronto. A wildcard like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard could be a game-breaker at any given time.

As long as the Red Wings keep their head on the entire night, the club should give John Gibson a chance to win the game. Sure, it’s early in the season. But an 0-2 start to the year could set a bad precedent for the year.

Saturday night is the best time for the Detroit Red Wings to nip their defensive issues in the bud (pun intended) and set the tone for the rest of a successful season.