Scott Rovak – USA TODAY Sports
If it wasn’t clear before last night’s NHL season opener, the Detroit Red Wings miss Nicklas Lidstrom. An embarrassing 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues exposed many of the team’s defensive flaws as players were frequently caught out of position, underperformed on the penalty kill and contributed nothing at the offensive end.
If one player in particular had a bad night, it was Kyle Quincey. The Wings expect big things this season from Quincey, who they signed to a two-year contract extension in July. He was victimized not once, but twice by Blues rookie Vladimir Tarasenko as the Russian youngster scored his first two goals. The Red Wings played with just six defensemen, as Jakub Kindl remained out with a groin injury. Brendan Smith, Jonathan Ericsson, Ian White, Quincey and newcomer Carlo Colaiacovo each played at least 15 minutes, but only Colaiacovo managed a shot on goal. The Blues power play was a crisp 4 of 5 and they added a shorthanded goal as well.
Lidstrom’s retirement and Brad Stuart’s departure through free agency took away two of the Wings’ best penalty killers. Niklas Kronwall and Ericsson will need to step up this season in expanded roles, and White and Colaiacovo are expected to contribute on the power play. It may be just one game, but last night’s loss put Detroit’s flaws on display in a bad way. It would not be shocking to see the team be active in pursuing another defenseman either in the coming weeks or at least by the trade deadline.
