The Red Wings were happy to see an old friend visiting The Joe on Friday night -- and they were even happier to see Jiri Hudler leave.
The former Wings sniper scored two goals, one that proved to be the game-winner and another into an empty net to seal a 5-2 Calgary victory.
"Huds is a great kid, a great player. He's one of my favorites," Wings coach Mike Babcock said before the game. "He's ultra-skilled and he's a real good person. He grew up here. We watched him grow up. And we offered him a contract, but he chose to go and be a bigger part of somewhere else. That's part of the salary cap world."
Hudler played five full seasons with the Wings and parts of two others, but after scoring 25 goals and 50 points in the 2011-12 season, he signed a four-year deal with the Flames for $16 million.
"You make decisions based on what you think things are worth, and usually two years later you look back and say, 'boy, that would be a steal of a deal now' -- as the (salary) cap grows," Babcock said. "This was one of those decisions."
But when it ended -- badly for Detroit -- the Wings were more concerned about an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance that helped to erase their 2-0 lead barely seven minutes into the game. With Calgary playing its second road game in as many nights after winning at Boston in an overtime shootout the evening before, the Wings wanted to get an early jump. And they did on two Justin Abdelkader goals, each set up by dazzling passes from captain Henrik Zetterberg.
"We got the lead and then kind of sat back and got sloppy," Abdelkader said. "We turned the puck over too much. They found ways to create chances, and when they did they scored on them."
Niklas Kronwall was even more critical, calling the play by the defense unacceptable after he and partner Jonathan Ericsson each were on the ice for four Calgary goals.
"Overall I thought we had some defensive breakdowns, obviously," he said. While the Wings limited the Flames to 24 shots after allowing their previous two opponents 40 shots (Nashville and the New York Rangers), they weren't nearly good enough, he added.
"We've got to do a way better job defensively. We were too passive in our own zone," Kronwall said. "Our defensive breakdowns cost us the game."
And the offense was rather one-dimensional, Babcock added.
"We had one line going," he said, referring to the Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Erik Cole unit. "The other lines weren't generating any offense.
"And the puck went in the net consistently," he added, in a less-than-subtle critique of goalie Jimmy Howard. But Babcock checked himself quickly when asked to elaborate on Howard's performance.
"The other night, when he stood on his head and got us some points, we didn't assess him," Babcock said. "We stole two points tonight then, but we leave here disappointed because we didn't do our job."
Cole, acquired this week in a trade with Dallas, drew the second assist on both goals, which gave Abdelkader 16 for the season.
But true to their reputation, the relentlessly hardworking Flames came storming back. They trimmed Detroit's lead with power play goal by Sean Monahan (his 24th) midway through the first, tied it with a wicked shot off the right post and in by Matt Stajan (his fifth) early in the second and took the lead to stay on Hudler's first goal. It came on a lovely wrist shot through Kronwall's legs and just inside the post Howard's right about seven minutes before the second intermission.
Third-period goals by Mason Raymond (his 12th) and Hudler (his 23rd) put the game out of reach. Hudler leads Calgary in scoring with 54 points in 62 games. That's just three points off his career-high with the Wings in 2008-09.
With the loss, the Wings fall to 36-16-11 (83 points) heading into Sunday's matinee matchup at Boston. Calgary improved to 36-25-4 (76 points), good for a tie with Vancouver for second place in the Pacific Division.
NOTES: Friday was the 19th anniversary of Chris Osgood's goal at Hartford in a rink located in a shopping mall before the Whalers moved to Carolina and morphed into the Hurricanes. Osgood became just the third NHL goalie to score a goal.
