Detroit Red Wings shot in the foot

They did not create a lot of offense, skated ruts to the penalty bench and found themselves stuck in the overtime defense zone. They took a look at Thursday's opening loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Little Caesars Arena, but the overall performance was disappointing.

"We had a big point against a good team, but again, we need to find a way to flip the switch and find a way to steal those points," veteran goalie Jimmy Howard said. "The opening night, you want to come here and you want to give your fans a great show.

"In the first period, we had the impression of gaining momentum, then we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties. We can not count on our punishment to kill like that every night. "

Howard spoke of "good things" to pull out of the game. His game was one of them – Howard made 16 saves in the third period, 36 in total. The penalty killers scored a quick goal, but overall they scored 5-6 minutes in 9:10. Dennis Cholowki scored in his NHL debut, and Tyler Bertuzzi "scored a goal for Bert," as Howard said, going to the net.

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Coach Jeff Blashill said that being in the boxing area "killed us in different ways. We had a failure early and a little momentum, we got a penalty, then they scored and after that, they got the momentum. When we returned, we took another penalty. "

The Wings looked like they were playing over the puck in overtime, but Anthony Mantha, Luke Glendening and Trevor Daley found themselves trapped in the defensive zone and Artemi Panarin took advantage and scored in the 2:11. explain a loss.

"I do not think it's lack of willpower or effort," Blashill said. "We did not take out the puck on our side and if you do not take it out, it's a tough game to play. It's hard to play anything but defense.

"Is it a little expected when you have four young D? Maybe a little bit."

The Wings had five recruits in the formation; for any of them, the night has become a lifetime memory. In the second half, Cholowski skated to the lower slot, anticipating an opportunity as Dylan Larkin had the puck.

"I saw him look over his shoulder and shouted as loud as I could for the puck because I was wide open and he managed a great pass," he said. said Cholowski. "I'm grateful he made the pass.

Six Wings were sent to the penalty box, including three in the first period. After 20 minutes, the Wings had a decent goal chance.

"We absolutely have to stay disciplined," said Justin Abdelkader. "I think all of this was penalties. It's hard when you're in the box for a good part of the night, it mixes the flow of lines. So stay disciplined, and then 5 against 5, create more – but it starts with the puck in our own area and communicating and being difficult to play. "

Bertuzzi was 2-2 at the end of the second period by deflecting Larkin's shot, but rather than continue on the pace in the third period, the Wings stammered and missed their shots. Miserable to play against them were not.