from John Niyo of the Detroit News,
Look, this is still likely a bottom-five team in the NHL we're watching here in Detroit, though hopefully one with more lottery luck in the end.
But there’s plenty of room for improvement, which is really all general manager Steve Yzerman admits he can expect at this point in a rebuild. And more than enough opportunity to show it, playing a 56-game schedule over 115 days, starting with a rematch with Carolina in less than 48 hours.
And after no games for what felt like an eternity, that felt good — and different — Thursday night, even if the loss didn’t.