WINGS POST-GAME: Wings Blow Late 3rd Period Lead, Lose 5-4 in OT

I was at the game tonight.

In the 20 minutes that it took to walk home, I groaned out loud about 20 times. My wife, the eternal Leafs fan, mocked me the entire way.

Now that I’m home, still in my Yzerman jersey, with a fresh dram of whisky, I’m ready to de-construct what happened tonight and how it felt being in the middle of it all.

The way that the Leafs took the lead so early in the game and then tied it so late into it was almost poetic. It was like whatever happened in between those two goals didn’t even matter. Like Filip Hronek’s game-tying goal and Christoffer Ehn’s first NHL goal meant nothing. I almost forgot about the retribution Michael Rasmussen got for the check from behind.

The Red Wings played a decent game. It helped that the Leafs looked terrible. It was the kind of confidence building the team needed. But any confidence built up was destroyed when the Leafs tied it up and stole the game in OT.

Kasperi Kapanen scored the early go-ahead goal in the first period and the game-winner in OT. Jonathan Bernier should be ashamed of his attempt to seal the five hole.

But was this all on Bernier? No. Jonathan Ericsson’s attempt to keep Mitch Marner out of the play that resulted in Morgan Rielly’s game-tying goal was embarrassing. Luke Glendening and Luke Witkowski couldn’t stop a pass from Par Lindholm to Frederik Gauthier. That was weak.

For the most part, the Leafs fans were sympathetic. They know that the Red Wings are no challenge to their powerhouse team. They accepted my obnoxiousness when the Wings were up and dished it right back when the game was tied.

And why not? They’ve earned the right. They rank second place in points in the league. The Leafs are hashtag actually good and the Wings are just scraping by. This was an incredibly fun game to watch, but to think that because the Wings were leading until there were seven seconds left meant they can compete with a powerhouse like the Leafs is a ridiculous thought.

If anything, watching these two teams live tonight was a stark reminder that the Red Wings have a long way to go before they are back at the top. The parity in today’s NHL allows them to be competitive, but they aren’t truly contenders. There is a lot more work to be done.

I was at the game tonight.

And in the 20 minutes that it took to write this article, I’ve realized: we can still have fun.

Ehn’s goal was actually beautiful. Hronek and Rasmussen both played a great game against one of the best teams in the league.

The future is bright, but we have a hell of a division to compete in. So let’s keep disrupting it and continue to have fun.