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When you let in a goal 9 seconds into a game, it feels like it’s going to be a long night. Kubalik continues to provide offense as he struck 4 minutes later to tie the score up at 1 apiece. The Wings moved the puck well as Larkin got a pass to Perron who quickly found Hronek. A straight pass to the hash marks on his off wing found Kubalik strike with a nice quick release that went 5 hole on a sliding goalie. Not bad at all.

And then, 3 straight L.a. goals. Fiala at around 13:00 in the first and Durzi twice at 6:23 and 13:41 in the second. At 4-1, some unpleasant memories of the last contest vs NYR started to resurface. Another power play tally, this one a pass from Raymond at the blue line to Sundqvist down low who taps it immediately to Larkin. The Captain was at near point blank range as the Wings came within two.

With 2:01 left to play, Sundqvist wins a puck battle down by the net, gets a pass to Perron who was at the line. Hronek was tapping his stick. He was just inside the blue line between the circles. A pass from Perron turned into a slap shot that found the top corner of the net. 4-3, and that’s where the comeback ended.

There are things to like about Detroit’s play at times. 4 shots in the first and 6 in the second combined for fewer than the 11 shots in the third. This is a team that most of the fans accept is still learning some tough lessons about all the cliche advice you can get. “Play a full 60 minutes”. “Put the puck on net”. “Start on time”. And so on.

The Wings have 2 full days off before battling Anaheim. They then have a day off before playing San Jose. This trip out west is important in several ways. It’s the card games, the fishing trips, the bonding experience that helps the team start to fill in some of the blanks on what you don’t know about your teammate.

Yzerman talked about hotel card games that went until 3 a.m. back in the day. In the minors, it’s the long bus rides. There’s just something that happens in close quarters when the team is isolated from “regular life”.

I’ll say again, there are times when the passing is phenomenal. There are also times when it’s a wasted opportunity on the rush. It’s a split second decision and one that can show confidence. If the goalie is “cheating” at all, they are almost betting on a pass. If you’re on your off wing, that’s the time to go top shelf, if not, try for a rebound off the pads.

Regardless, 4 shots in a period and letting in a goal in the first 9 seconds can burn you badly. The PK let in 2 of 3 opportunities, the power play cashed in on 2 of 4. Healthy bodies are going to start to rotate in and we’ll see how much the dynamic changes as the team returns to something closer to what Yzerman and LaLonde envisioned.

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