Red Wings defense, goaltending upset in season-opening loss: 3 takeaways

DETROIT – A home opener isn't supposed to end with boos. But that's what happened when the buzz was ringing at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night, following the Red Wings' 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins — a loss that fueled much of the concern of fans and observers about Detroit coming into the season.

It's early, of course. But for a team that came into the season hoping to take another step toward (or into) the playoffs, Thursday's loss brought some lingering questions to the fore.

Three takeaways from the game:

Goaltending is still a question

Husso, who was perhaps the biggest mystery entering the Red Wings' injury-plagued 2023-24 season training camp, made his first preseason start with a 43-save performance against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

But after doing well enough after the first period, his outing was quickly undone in the second period Thursday, when Pittsburgh tagged him for three goals in the first six minutes. It wasn't all Huso's fault, but none of the three looked good on him.

There was a juicy rebound that he unleashed in front, which was easily tucked home by Anthony Beauvillier. Evgeni Malkin had a fantastic game to beat Erik Gustafsson, but Husso didn't help himself by over-committing and leaving Drew O'Connor with a wide-open net. And the final goal was the ugliest: a soft floater by Markus Pettersson on the point.

Beauvilliers and O'Connor had clear defensive issues in goal — Detroit failed to clear the net on Beauvilliers and Gustafson O'Connor — and that's a problem in its own right.

But Husso gave up four goals on 14 shots (the Penguins' first goal was from under the goal line by Beauvillier, banked in by Ben Chiarot's leg) did nothing to assuage the general uncertainty around the Red Wings' crease.

Talbot relieved Husso after a storming second period and stopped 12 of the 14 shots he faced, but also had another goal come back due to a hand pass.

So what happens from here, the three-headed goalie situation that has always been fluid? Don't expect Husso to lose his spot as the rotation is finalized just yet, but head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed there will be a different starter on Saturday.

While Husso's preseason helped temporarily ease concerns about his readiness for a meaningful workload, Thursday's lack of sharpness brought those questions back into the spotlight.

Defense not sharp to begin with

The Red Wings' emphasis has been on solidifying their defense since the first day of camp, and for good reason. Detroit gave up too much offense last season, and after losing a significant portion of the scoring from their 2023-24 roster, keeping them out of their own net was the most obvious remedy.

But while the goaltending gave them some advantages — especially with rebounds — the Red Wings defense did little to meet that defensive challenge for much of Thursday's game.

According to Natural Stat Trick, their only free-agent acquisition on defense, Gustafsson, finished with a 22.3 percent on-ice expected goal share. Simon Edvinsson, Detroit's top prospect who started the season in the top four, was no more. And while Jeff Petry's upper-body injury forced the Red Wings to play with five defensemen for much of the night, the injury occurred deep enough into the game that it can only explain so much.

Net cleaning, in particular, stands out as an area of ​​concern with multiple grade-A appearances around the crease.

“Probably a little bit on arrival, a little bit on box-out,” Lalonde said. “Probably a little bit on rebound control as well. Obviously it makes it hard on our guys when they pop out like that. But … of course some of these areas are a work in progress: box-outs, gaps, some d-zone coverage. It's a bit disappointing because it looked really good tonight and there were some signs of how you want it to be successful in this league. But we couldn't sustain it.”

Detroit certainly isn't the only team to give up a big number early in the season, as scores have been high most of the week around the league. But emphasizing that side of the game through camp — and the need for it for this team to succeed — wasn't an inspiring showing.

Seider, DeBrincat bright spot

The game was not positive for the Red Wings, who actually came out pretty sharp. They dominated early in the game, scoring the game's first goal just 3:46 in and had pressure on an early power play that could have put them in the driver's seat.

Obviously, the turn the game took in the second half will render most of it easily forgettable, but there were a few key performances worth noting even in the loss.

First: Moritz Seider, who graded out with strong underlying numbers despite solid defensive play for Detroit. He was on the ice for just one goal against Detroit, and it was a Patterson floater that had no business getting past Husso. His five-on-five on-ice expected goal share was a very strong 62.88 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick. He was a wrecking ball, racking up six credited hits and setting a physical tone. And he assisted on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal in the second period, just as a power play expired.

It may have been ring hollow in a loss, but given Sider's importance to the Red Wings as the focal point of the blue line, his performance was worth noting.

Meanwhile up front, Alex DeBrincat's underlying numbers weren't nearly as sterling at a 5-on-five on-ice xGF% of 26, but he still finished with a pair of goals (and 3 points) and was consistently noticeable, both with the puck and when Try to get it back.

For all the emphasis on defense for a losing offense, DeBrincat is uniquely suited to help Detroit replace some scoring. And he did it in more ways than one on Thursday, scoring a rush early on a great feed from Raymond and adding one late on the power play on a rebound. Taking him could pay dividends in a tough early schedule, during which the Red Wings need some goals.

But still: The Red Wings need their top line of DeBrincat, Raymond and Dylan Larkin to win matchups on the scoreboard and in terms of chance quality. They didn't either on Thursday.

(Top photo: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)