Derek Lalonde call out struggling Detroit Red Wings special teams after embarrassing loss to Canadiens

It really doesn't get much worse for the Detroit Red Wings, who were swept in a 2-game series against the divisional foe Montreal Canadiens.

The Red Wings failed to protect their lead in the 3rd period of Friday's game at Little Caesars Arena, while also getting embarrassed 5-1 in last night's game at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Even worse was the fact that the Habs were the clear victor in the special teams battle; the Red Wings failed to convert on a combined eight power play opportunities, while the Habs got a pair power play goals from Patrik Laine in addition to scoring shorthanded.

Coach Derek Lalonde called out Detroit's struggling special teams, saying they their failures to convert puts pressure on the other areas of their game.

Not only has the Red Wings' penalty killing routinely been at the bottom of the NHL this year, but they were threatening to unseat the 1979-1980 Los Angeles Kings as the worst penalty killing efficiency in NHL history.

While Detroit's power play has been better, their power outage in the last pair of games against the Habs has proven costly.

Montreal is now ahead of Detroit in the standings, something that seemed unthinkable at this point last year.