After getting beaten on the road by a bottom-of-the-barrel Buffalo Sabres squad on Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings (5-3-0) looked unenthusiastic and, honestly, played their worst game of the season in a 7-2 loss against the Patrick Roy-coached New York Islanders (4-3-0) Thursday night at UBS Arena in Belmont, New York.
Similar to their start in Buffalo, the Wings struggled to get shots on goal against goaltender David Rittich and found themselves down 2-0 entering the first intermission following goals from Tony DeAngelo and Emil Heineman.
The second period saw the situation deteriorate even further as John-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri, and Matthew Barzal each potted a goal in the middle frame to increase the lead to 5-0.
While on the power play, Dylan Larkin’s sixth goal of the year would finally put the Wings on the board with 16:49 remaining in the third, as Emmitt Finnie (4th) and Alex DeBrincat (7th) would pick up assists on the play.
Unfortunately, New York would strike twice a few minutes later to expand their lead again, as Heineman picked up his second goal of the night with 12:41 remaining, and Simon Holmstrom would convert just 38 seconds later at 12:03.
As the game was well beyond decided, Jonatan Berggren would score his first goal of the year with 2:40 remaining, where he would get assists from JT Compher (2nd) and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (1st). For Brandsegg-Nygård, the helper would be the first point of his NHL career in just his eighth game played.
In total, the Red Wings would outshoot the Islanders 33-30 and convert on 1-of-5 power-play opportunities; the awful effort in the first two periods played right into the slow, suffocating style of play that has been the Islanders’ identity over the past handful of seasons.
Although the result was dreadful for Wings fans, the loss did not cost the team any ground in the Atlantic Division standings, as Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston, and Montreal all lost in regulation. The only divisional foe to pick up two points on the night was the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Nashville Predators by a 2-1 score.
Up next for the Red Wings will be a crucial early-season matchup against the St. Louis Blues (3-3-1) from Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. ET.
Even though it is early in the campaign, the contest will be the Red Wings’ last home game before they embark on a five-game West Coast trip that features stops in St. Louis (ironic), Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, and Las Vegas.
