Red Wings – Kings Postgame Notes

I think after two periods tonight you had to have the feeling that the floodgates were about to open one way or the other. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, it was not in their favor.

The story tonight was the goalies. Jonathan Quick was incredible in net for the Kings, stopping all 51 shots he faced. Jimmy Howard, on the other hand…

Howard did not lose this game for Detroit. If you don’t score any goals, it’s not your goalie’s fault. He did get outplayed, however. Given how good Quick was, saying that Howard got outplayed doesn’t mean he had a bad game. That said, Howard did not make the stops that Quick did.

We’ve seen this all before. The offense gets stifled by a hot goalie at one end of the ice. At the other end, every mistake the Wings make is pounced on and turned into a goal against. It’s never pretty.

I don’t mind Detroit not scoring. It’s gonna happen. I don’t want to see it but sometimes you’re gonna hit the hot goalie.

I do mind the goals against. As I said in-game, I didn’t like how Howard looked on them. He completely lost track of the puck on the second goal (though someone should have had the King who went to the net), he kicked the puck right out to the oncoming forward on the third goal, and I don’t think the screen on the fifth goal was as bad as it could have been. Momentary bits of sloppiness that turn into goals against.