Detroit suffering from mental lapses

Detroit has given up 23 goals during a winless streak that stretched to five games (0-4-1).

Updated: November 4, 2003, 12:48 PM ET
By By Jim Wilkie | NHL Insider
It's ironic that on the same day Red Wings owner Mike Illitch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame his team looked more like the "Dead Wings" he purchased 21 years ago and saved from ruin.

The Winged Wheels aren't in any danger of falling to the depths of the late 1970s and early '80s Detroit teams but on Monday night the Vancouver Canucks made the Red Wings look old, sloppy, weak and tired by exploding for four second-period goals en route to a 5-1 victory at GM Place.

"This game is reminiscent of nothing that I've seen in a long time," Red Wings head coach Dave Lewis told the Detroit Free Press. "Give Vancouver credit, they played hard, they cycled the puck, they attacked when they could, they looked bigger than us, they looked stronger than us. We didn't compete at the same level they competed at in the second period."


To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

SPONSORED HEADLINES

MORE NHL HEADLINES

MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM

ALSO SEE