The Red Wings struggled through their worst second half of any game on Saturday. It ended with a rookie making a monster accomplishment.
If allowing five goals on 15 shots wasn't bad enough, the Red Wings allowed two of those goals within 18 seconds of one another.
With Detroit up 4-3, Justin Barron scored on an amazing sequence that started when he grabbed the puck out of midair, put the puck on his stick, spun, and found Jimmy Snuggerud. Snuggerud bolted down the wing and found Barron skating between the hash marks. Barron scored on the one-timer at 12:57 in the third period, and it all but vanquished any remaining momentum for Detroit.
The real story came 18 seconds later when Aleksanteri Kaskimaki scored at 13:15. It was one of Detroit's worst defensive moments of the season, with Alexey Toropchenko drilling one from behind the left circle while facing little pressure. Kaskimaki was left unaccounted for in front of goaltender John Gibson. That left Gibson with little chance to block Kaskimaki's tip-in that put the Blues up 5-4.
Dave Hogg of NHL.com noted, "Kaskimaki is the second Blues player in the past 10 years whose first NHL goal stood as the game winner (Jake Neighbours on Oct. 23, 2021)."
While the Blues have made a habit of making games interesting after falling behind, it was the rarity of this situation that made Detroit's heartbreaking loss on Halloween even more painful.
Detroit's loss was memorable for all the wrong reasons, but allowing the last two goals of the game to come against Justin Barron and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki is a signal to opponents that literally anybody can score against them.
Barron has bounced around the league often in his NHL tenure. He has never been known for his offensive prowess, even if he is trending toward a breakout campaign early this season. Still, this is a player who was on waivers when September faded into October.
As for Kaskimaki, he was playing in his 11th game, with two points to show for it. Kaskimaki may develop into a serviceable NHL player, but that's beside the point.
Detroit's defense fell apart at the wrong times on Saturday. But it stings even more when allowing the game-tying and game-winning goal against a player who typically plays third-pairing minutes and another who is still getting acclimated to the NHL.
If there is good news, it is that this occurred on Oct. 31, and not in March. In recent years, Detroit's final two months of the regular season have been nightmarish. Getting bad games and much-needed learning experiences out of the way early could help them as the season hits only its second month.
Should the Red Wings learn from this experience, they won't let themselves break down so badly late in games after taking three-goal leads. That is where luck is, for now, on Detroit's side.
Still, they need more urgency. Detroit is the worst team in the Atlantic Division with 15 points. The race is so tight early in 2026-27 that the Red Wings have five more points than the worst team in the other three divisions.
They need to learn to translate those learning experiences into wins. That means no more giving up two goals in 18 seconds, especially against players who don't typically score.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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