Todd McLellan ‘wasted’ review of painful loss to Sabres

The The Detroit Red Wings opened the scoring against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday evening. They were looking for their sixth straight win big win over the Edmonton Oilers. And JT Compher’s goal seemed to give them the jolt they needed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Detroit at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

Jason Zucker scored a goal before leaving with an injury in the second period. Josh Doan also scored, while Jack Quinn chipped in three points. The Red Wings got goals from Komfer and Emmitt Feeney, but they weren’t enough. Detroit fell 4-2.

After the game, head coach Todd McClellan gave his assessment loss. He pointed to the team’s poor performance in the first period. The Sabers pretty much controlled the game. And they gave Detroit nothing in the first.

“We’re 30 seconds into the game, we go through that kill and all of a sudden we’re back in the frame. … It’s hard to get into any rhythm. We wasted a little bit in the first period. Based on that outcome, I didn’t think we were ready for the pace the game was played at, and the Reds were down a lot of times, and it was bad,” the boss said via NHL.com.

The Red Wings stumble on the road after a brutal first period

McClellan certainly wasn’t wrong in his assessment of Detroit’s start. Facing a rookie goaltender, the Red Wings were slow when the puck came out. In fact, they went halfway through the first frame without recording a shot on goal.

When they were making record shots, they weren’t anything dangerous, at least for the most part. They were better in the second period. However, Detroit was pretty undisciplined that night. They took 10 minutes worth of penalties, giving the Sabers plenty of scoring chances.

It’s certainly a tough loss for this Red Wings team. However, it is not the end of the world. They have shown they can play well against some of the best teams in the league. How he returns will say a lot about this team. Detroit hits the road Thursday to face Matthew Schaeffer and the New York Islanders.