The pre-season wasn't kind to the Red Wings.  At one point they had lost 5 in a row, finishing with a 4-5 record before the puck dropped for real overseas on Friday afternoon.

When the real season started everyone expected this team to rise to the occasion and pull out at least one, if not two wins, against their Central Division rivals, the St. Louis Blues.

The team was headed to Sweden - homeland of Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, and Andres Lilja - and all the talk in Traverse City during training camp centered around the excitement the team felt about making this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and how they were all going to band together to win one for the Swedes.  Everyone was suppose to lift their games to help the hometown heroes get a win in Stockholm, and make all right with the world...but that's not what went down.

Instead they gave up 9 goals in two games.  Jonathan Ericsson was injured, and they came limping home with more questions than answers as to how the new era, new look Red Wings would bounce back after that disastrous Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals loss at the Joe.

The home opener takes place this Thursday and although it's here in Hockeytown, it won't be any easier.  They take on the pre-season division favorites from Chicago. This is a team that can't wait to kick the Wings while their down and send the message that they're the 'new kids on the block'.

A pair of losses and an injury to a key young defenseman, in Sweden, is not the start anyone in Detroit expected to see.  Now let's just hope that things don't get worse before they get better for the defending Western Conference Champions as this new season gets underway - ready or not.