via Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

The Detroit Red Wings’ 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins Thursday is a reminder that is challenging to truly understand where GM Steve Yzerman’s team is at in their rebuild.

On one hand, Yzerman’s offseason acquisitions have made the team more competitive. Their 3-0-2 start showed they are an improved team. They were competitive with the Bruins for 40 minutes. But in the third period it was also clear the Red Wings still are a long way from being a polished work.

Some reality after the Bruins game: The Red Wings have lost four of their last five games. The Red Wings have given up 11 goals in their last two games. They now rank 25th with a 3.29 goals-against average.

It’s unclear whether injured forward Oskar Sundberg will be ready for Saturday’s game.

Coach Derek Lalonde said lessons were learned from the Bruins. “Just the consistency, they stay with things,” Lalonde told Bally Sports.”You don’t see the lapses in their game…we had a three-minute period when it got away from us. Back-to-back penalties in the second. We were completely controlling and found ourselves down 2-0, not 1-0. (We need) a little more consistency in our game."