In one night the Detroit Red Wings went from being on a roll to being steamrolled.

A 4-1 loss Wednesday to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center again raised the question of whether the Wings are truly contenders in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Against the other four teams along with them among the top five in the conference – Tampa Bay (0-1-1), Montreal (0-1-1), the New York Islanders (1-1) and Pittsburgh (1-1) – Detroit is a combined 2-4-2.

“They were better in all levels in the first,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “We were slow. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do and they scored some goals.”

Pittsburgh capitalized on Detroit turnovers to race to its advantage and the Wings couldn’t dig their way out of that hole.

“Obviously, we’re the ones making the turnovers,” Zetterberg said. “We didn’t have enough speed, so we put ourselves in situations where we’re forced to make a play instead of keeping it simple.”

Detroit coach Mike Babcock wasted little in terms of flowery language to assess his club’s performance.

“They were good and we were bad,” Babcock said. “They played fast and we played slow. They competed and we stood around.

“We’ve won lots of games here lately, but a little humble pie for us tonight.”

It only figures to get tougher as the Wings face Montreal again Monday and then head out to face some of the best the Western Conference has to offer.

“I think we got more coming than this,” Babcock said. “I think when we start our road trip and go to Chicago and Dallas and San Jose and L.A. and Anaheim and I don’t know the order, and then back to Nashville, I think that’s going to tell a lot about our team.”

What Goalie Controversy?
The night may have also settled any thought that Petr Mrazek was ready to usurp Jimmy Howard’s position as Detroit’s No. 1 goaltender.

Mrazek was beaten for four goals in two periods, giving way to Howard, who was only called upon to make four saves in his first appearance since suffering a groin injury Jan 10.

“That’s the hockey,” Mrazek said. “Sometimes you have the luck and it hits you. Sometimes it goes in. Nothing we can do with that.

While he didn’t like the reason why he got in there, Howard was anxious for the chance to shake off some rust.

“It was kind of a fast game,” Howard said. “Those guys can really move out there.

“It was good to get back in there and get my feet wet. Even if it was only four shots, it was still four shots I haven’t had in a month and that’s how I treated it going out there. No matter what happened I was going to treat it like a practice for me.

“I was excited. I was seriously excited to get back out there. It had been so long that whenever you can get back out there you want to.”

Babcock told Howard on the bench during the second period right after Pittsburgh’s fourth goal that he’d be taking over to start the third period.

“I could have put Howie in right there, but it made no sense,” Babcock said.

Howard appreciated the advance notice as well as the opportunity to take time to prepare himself during the second intermission.

“He wanted to do what was best for me instead of throwing me in cold,” Howard said. “He wanted me to come in here and warm up and get the muscles moving again.”

Howard, who will start Saturday at Joe Louis Arena against the Winnipeg Jets made certain to acknowledge the work of Mrazek in his absence.

“Petr’s done a tremendous job for us,” Howard said. “He doesn’t deserve that but at the same time, they were better than us for two periods and we picked it up in the third.

“What is he, 9-2 in his last 11? That’s pretty impressive. You’ve got to remember he’s 22 years old. He’s still pretty green when it comes to playing in the NHL. He’s only going to get better.

“He’s got a great work ethic. He wants to learn. He’s got the makings of someone who’s going to be a good player.”

Positive Note
Detroit’s top-ranked power play kept its scoring streak going, netting its lone goal from the stick of Stephen Weiss, the fourth straight game the Wings have tallied while enjoying the man advantage.

“Our power play is the best and they’re dangerous every time they’re out there,” Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said. “It’s amazing what the guys are doing out there.

“The puck just moves so smoothly between those guys sometimes. It’s ridiculous.”

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