Special Teams Woes Haunt Red Wings In 5-1 Loss To Blackhawks

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Following their disappointing 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday evening, the Detroit Red Wings discussed the importance of improving their special teams play.

Instead, it was their inability to convert on both the power-play and the penalty kill on Sunday afternoon that ultimately served as their undoing. 

The Blackhawks scored on all three of their power-play chances while killing off all five opportunities the Red Wings had en route to a 5-1 victory at Little Caesars Arena. 

With the loss, the Red Wings have now dropped three straight games in regulation, and have scored a combined two goals during that stretch. 

The Red Wings fired 45 shots at Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom, the brother of Detroit forward Elmer Soderblom, but he was easily the game’s first star. 

The Blackhawks struck less than a minute after the opening face-off, as Connor Bedard whistled a shot past the glove of Red Wings goaltender John Gibson after Dylan Larkin had been whistled for a minor penalty. 

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It would be Larkin who knotted the score at 1-1 later in the first period, as he buried a loose puck from a Lucas Raymond shot past Soderblom. 

Chicago made the Red Wings pay in the second period, as Teuvo Teravainen scored his third goal of the season; his tally eventually stood up as the game-winner.

The Red Wings had a golden opportunity late in the second period, as former Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi was whistled for a minor penalty and then assessed another penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for refusing to stop barking at referee Carter Sandlak. 

They failed to win the face-off in the Chicago defensive zone, and barely had any sustained zone pressure. The entire four minute power-play, which stretched early into the third period, went for naught. 

To add insult to injury, Bertuzzi would score a power-play goal to increase Chicago’s lead to 3-1 just seconds into Simon Edvinsson’s slashing penalty. 

Chicago added two more goals in the third period, as Andre Burakovsky hit the open net with John Gibson on the bench, followed by rookie Oliver Moore scoring his first NHL goal with just 16 seconds left. 

Soderblom finished with 44 savese in one of the best performances of his young career, while Gibson conceded four goals on the 19 shots he faced. 

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