from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,
"They're a good team and they capitalized on their chances," defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "They're a team that's contending for a Stanley Cup right now. They know how to play and have been playing that way for a long time. A lot of dangerous players over there, and if you give them a couple of chances to put it in, they'll do it.
"We didn't capitalize on ours."
The Wings (36-30-7) received bad news before the game that forwards Patrick Kane and Austin Czarnik were unavailable because of illness. They went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen instead, bringing in forward Daniel Sprong and defenseman Justin Holl....
"We knew we'd be up against it, only from where the lineup was but to have it happen right before the game," coach Derek Lalonde said. "It's a bit of stinger. That's a tough team to play 11 forwards with because of the pace they play at. We probably could have done more to give ourselves a chance but you look back at this game and there was opportunity in this game."
Lalonde felt the second-period implosion may have began in the first period.
"I'm glad we got out of the first (0-0, though being outshot 15-3)," Lalonde said. "I know the shot volume is extremely lopsided but that's them. If you look at the underlying numbers in the first it wasn't that bad. We'd like to steal the period but we didn't and then a little breakdown on the track in the second, and they score on the power play, and it got away from us."