The conclusion of the Sweden trip for the Detroit Red Wings was less than ideal, marked by a third-period collapse that allowed three unanswered goals in their 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Resulting in just one point for the team. Detroit’s usually robust power-play a notable strength thus far, struggled at 0-4. Although, untimely penalties and numerous defensive breakdowns continued to be the story and significantly contributed to the Red Wings essentially defeating themselves.

In his debut start for the Red Wings, goaltender Alex Lyon exhibited a solid performance, though the team faced defensive challenges with several questionable plays and decisions. Lyon managed to hold his ground, stopping 26 of 29 shots, despite the opposition presenting numerous quality scoring chances. Reflecting on his inaugural start, Lyon took responsibility for the third-period downturn, acknowledging, “Not good enough for the win tonight, and that’s disappointing. I gotta find a way to make the extra save at the end; those tiny margins are what games in the NHL come down too.”

Lucas Raymond continued his impressive form, scoring his second goal of the trip. Contributing significantly to the first line’s dynamics. Meanwhile his playmaking prowess has brought energy to a struggling second power-play unit.

Post-game, Raymond reflected on his return to Sweden. Noting his two-goal performance but expressing overall displeasure with the result and the missed opportunity for a win. “It’s tough to really think about that right now. Obviously it’s been a special experience being in my home country, family and friends. At the end of the day, we came here to win two games and we’ve won none of them.

I think we played really good the first two periods then in the third I feel like we came out and played a bit scared, and on our heels. That’s when their offense starts to take over. They’re one of the most killed teams in the league, started to give them space and stopped playing our game..” 

Derek Lalonde on the Red Wings Struggles in Sweden

Following the game, Head Coach Derek Lalonde shared his thoughts on the disappointing conclusion to a road trip that held considerable promise for the Red Wings

“Most disappointing one was the first goal against. I think that was preventable. Starts from a turnover from below our offensive goal line. We had a blow up in the D zone up in the back of our net.  Probably a little fatigue was setting in. Rain was probably shutting off a little bit. The 5 defenseman created an issue for us. Obviously they were playing their top guys down the stretch just created some matchup problems.  Took the late penalty, obviously our best D-man in the box they get one there. unfortunate ending..  I felt we gave that first one o them.. would love to learn from that a little better and just kind of melt that clock down a little bit better.”

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