It's not easy to score three goals on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during a game, but it's what the Detroit Red Wings managed to do on Saturday afternoon.
The only problem was that once again, they weren't able to keep the puck out of their own net.
Multiple defensive turnovers spelled defeat for the Red Wings, as they dropped a 6-3 final score at Little Caesars Arena for their third consecutive regulation defeat.
Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that it was the fourth time in the last five games that the Red Wings have allowed at least four goals.
While head coach Todd McLellan has repeatedly spoken of essentials like mental fortitude, team captain Dylan Larkin acknowledged that the club is a bit brittle right now.
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"Even when we were winning games, we were down a goal or two early and right now, we're just a little fragile and mistakes seem to be compounding," Larkin said. "We're finding ourselves down early in games and that's the way it's going right now. There's a blueprint in how we play well and you saw it parts (Friday) but in this league against a team like that, you have to be ready all 60 (minutes) and show what you are made of all those 60."
Among the mistakes in Detroit's end was a misplay on the puck by young defenseman Albert Johansson as he was stripped of the puck from behind by Gage Goncalves, who scored Tampa's second goal a moment later.
Rookie Nate Danielson inadvertently sent the puck right into his own crease from the slot after getting his stick on a Tampa pass attempt, setting up the first of what would be two goals from Yanni Gourde on the afternoon.
Finally, Moritz Seider misplayed the puck behind his own net during the third period, leading directly to Jake Guentzel's deflection goal seconds later that put the game out of reach.
The Red Wings have shown at various points this season that they're capable of putting together consistent, 60 minute efforts. A prime example of it was their victory earlier on Nov. 16 over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, arguably their most complete defensive performance of the campaign.
Conversely, the Red Wings have also strayed away from what has made them successful at various points, with their recent losses to the NHL-worst Nashville Predators and on Saturday against Tampa Bay being prime examples.
J.T. Compher, who scored the game’s opening goal, said that although younger players’ fear of making a mistake can sometimes cause exactly that, good players and teams find ways to stay consistent regardless of how long they’ve been in the NHL.
"You're going to learn in this League a bunch of different ways. Even guys that aren't in their first year, it could be their third, fourth, sixth, seventh years. It's a battle to be consistent in this League, and the good players do it, the good teams do it."
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