Just posted this as a comment in yahoo's 5 Reasons... article:

1. The 7-1 game followed by the 4-1 game were with Conklin in goal. (Howard out having his first kid.) Conklin is playing terrible. Howard's GAA is 1.99. So defense isn't the problem.

2. The Lokomotiv crash really affected this team. McCrimmon was a longtime Red Wing coach, and his family is still in the area. Salei was Datsyuk's best friend on the team last year, and Datsyk has said he had a hard time even thinking about hockey during preseason.

3. They're 2nd in the league in shots per game, but the shots just haven't gone in. Luck plays a bigger role in sports (and life) than most of us are willing to admit. Shots will start to go in, and the wins will come.