George Malik Kukla's Korner
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The overnight report: Red Wings-Hurricanes wrap-up—mistake-prone Wings pounced upon by Hurricanes
The Detroit Red Wings lost an incredibly frustrating 3-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, kicking off a 4-games-in-6-nights stretch with a flat, uninspired effort against a Canes team coming off its Bye Week.
The Wings' penalty-kill continued to struggle, giving up 2 power play goals to Elias Linholm, but the fact that Jimmy Howard wasn't impenetrable on Saturday night couldn't be tagged on the goaltender nor his penalty-killers alone. The fact of the matter is that the Wings got out-skated, out-worked, especially in terms of detailed, and were out-classed in terms of energy and intensity. The Hurricanes played like they wanted to win the game...And the Red Wings played like a team that had a contractual obligation to fulfill.
As I said in the "Quick Take," regardless of where you want the Wings to finish this season, a flat, disinterested effort isn't setting a good example for the team's younger players, and whatever the hell the Red Wings delivered on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena was unacceptable from a "process" standpoint as much as anything else.
The Hurricanes were quite happy with earning a rope-a-dope win in Detroit, as they told CarolinaHurricanes.com's Mike Smith: