The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that their 2-1 setback at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins is that it won’t count against them in the standings, as it was the fifth pre-season game of their schedule.
The bad news is that they looked sluggish and uncrisp against a Penguins roster mostly comprised of minor league players. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s passes were sharper all game long and they enjoyed more quality scoring opportunities.
The Penguins scored on their first shot of the contest against goaltender John Gibson thanks to a blown defensive coverage on Ben Kindel, which was followed by a second period goal from Tommy Novak.
While Grand Rapids Griffins forward Dominik Shine halved Pittsburgh’s lead with 3:40 left in the contest, the Red Wings were unable to secure the equalizing goal with Gibson pulled for a sixth attacker and instead fell to 2-3 in pre-season play.
Gibson stopped 18 of 20 shots, while his Penguins counterpart Tristan Jarry made 21 saves.
Following the game, the frustration with how his team played was evident for head coach Todd McLellan.
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“I wasn’t really impressed with our team, to be quite honest,” McLellan said. “I thought we looked slow and sloppy. I don’t know which caused what.”
Among the roster regulars that the Red Wings skated included Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Marco Kasper, Moritz Seider, J.T. Compher, and Erik Gustafsson. Justin Holl and Jonatan Berggren also suited up for Detroit.
Without listing any names, McLellan made it clear that complacency among Detroit’s more veteran players isn’t an option, even if these games don’t count in the standings.
“Some of the older players have to get their games going quickly. Almost a week from today or tomorrow we’re playing against really, really good teams,” he said. “Some guys, in my opinion after watching them tonight, some have only played a couple of games and aren’t ready to play yet.”
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