The Detroit Red Wings were in a good position Wednesday night.
Tied 2-2 with the Calgary Flames, bottom dwellers in the Western Conference standings before puck drop, going into the third period. Then, it all fell apart for the Red Wings.
The Flames scored three times in a span of four minutes and 23 seconds in the third period, resulting in a 5-2 win on home ice for Calgary.
The Flames only needed 22 shots, apparently. Meanwhile, Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was outstanding, making 36 saves.
The loss lead to a post-game tirade from Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.
“It’s amazing to me how you can play so well and look so organized and look so talented, and then it’s almost like you get playing good, that you get loose,” Babcock told the Detroit Free Press.
“I mean, it’s crazy. We just gave it to them. It had nothing to do with them. Those are self-inflicted wounds on us. Crazy mistakes for no reason what-so-ever.
“To me, that was a disturbing loss, because all we had to do was continue to do things right, and you win the game. Whether we don’t have the maturity as a group, or the stick-to-it-ness - there’s no sense in what happened here.”
Red Wings forward Jordin Tootoo was a healthy scratch against the Flames.
According to Ansar Khan of MLive.com, defenseman Ian White did not show up for Wednesday’s game for “unspecified personal reasons,” but is expected to practice Thursday.