Trending: Lack of discipline haunts Red Wings

DETROIT - On a night where four Winnipeg Jets were returning home to Michigan and two Red Wings were making their season debuts, the Red Wings lost to the Jets, 2-1, Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Unlike Monday, where the Wings started off slowly against Carolina, Detroit played a solid first and held the lead after one, on Andreas Athanasiou's power-play goal at 15:27 of the first period. Dennis Cholowski and Frans Nielsen drew the assists.

However, the second period was a different story. The Jets came out hard and the Wings took three straight penalties. When the second period was over, the game was 1-1, on a power-play goal from former Michigan Wolverine Kyle Connor at 16:14 of the second. The Wings were outshot 21-4 in the second period.
Brutish defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, scored at 13:15 of the third period, giving the Jets their final margin of victory.
With the loss, Detroit drops to 1-7-2 on the season. The Wings' next action is Sunday evening when the Dallas Stars visit Little Caesars Arena with face-off at 5 p.m.
1.Jimmy Howard: Since last season, on many nights Howard has been the Red Wings' best player. Against the Jets, his solid play kept the Wings in the game, especially in the second period when the Wings took three straight penalties. Howard came up big. Perhaps his best save of the game came at the 4:17 mark of the second when the Jets' Bryan Little came barreling in on Howard and he made a spectacular glove save as Little crashed into the Detroit netminder. For the game, Howard faced 40 shots, making 38 saves for a .950 save percentage.
Quotable: "I think Jimmy's played really well and obviously the second period he was outstanding, outstanding. They had some real good chances and they're real shooters and I thought he was outstanding. He competes like crazy and comes to work to get better every day, has the focus that we talk about our team having and that's making sure that you put whatever game, however it happens, behind you, you come and get better and he's done an excellent job of that." - Wings coach Jeff Blashill
Quotable II: "For me personally, it's just going out there trying to steal one and try to give the guys a chance to win." - Howard
2.Mike Green:Detroit's most offensive-minded defenseman returned to the lineup after missing almost all of training camp and the Wings' first nine games of the season due to a virus. Green logged 20:27 of ice time and was a force for the Red Wings, jumping into the play and getting the puck out of his own end. He took five shots, was minus-1 and blocked one shot. Green also had instant chemistry with his defensive partner, the rookie Cholowski.
Quotable: "I thought Greener was pretty good. He hasn't played a game in a long, long, long time. I thought he came in and did a pretty good job. He pushed the puck out of our zone, I thought he was good offensively, so I thought he did a good job." - Blashill
Quotable II:"It was great to have Greener back. He adds another dimension to our game. A dynamic (when) he is out there, a different look at times. He jumps up on the play and gives us odd man rushes that way, so it great to have him back, it's just unfortunate we didn't get the win."- Niklas Kronwall

3. Jacob de la Rose: On October 17, the Red Wings claimed de la Rose off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens. A sturdy 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, the Wings are hoping de la Rose can be an effective center, providing depth to a thin position. After waiting a week for his paperwork to clear, de la Rose made his Wings debut against the Jets on Friday. Centering a line with Justin Abdelkader and Martin Frk as his wingers, he logged 9:36 of ice time and was minus-1, but he didn't look out of place considering he hasn't had much time to practice Detroit's system or with his new teammates.
   Quotable: "He's a great player, he's solid. He makes heads-up plays. I like the way he battles as a centerman. From talking to him, he was thinking a little bit more than he would normally, so once he gets comfortable in the system and comfortable with the guys, he could be a key player for us here." - Dylan Larkin
   Quotable II:"I think he played close to 10 minutes, killed some penalties. Hard on a guy when he hasn't been in very many practices, but we knew that going in, so we knew we were going to ease him in. I thought overall, he did a good job. He skates pretty good for a big man. I think he can be a good piece." - Blashill
   4. Ryan Forbes:Forbes may not be on Detroit's official roster, but the Kemptville, Ontario native was a Red Wing on Friday night. Forbes, 39, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of his appendix and stomach lining, just a year after his daughter, Lola, underwent open heart surgery at age 2. His official diagnosis is: Stage 4 appendiceal cancer with peritoneal caracinomatosis and is terminal. On October 30, Ryan will turn 40 years old and to mark this landmark occasion, Ryan's wife Julia, surprised him and 11 of his friends with a trip to Detroit for a birthday weekend where Forbes and his buddies watched the Wings-Jets game and will take in the Lions-Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday at Ford Field. The Wings and the Lions are his two favorite teams. As part of the Red Wings Dream Experience, presented by St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ryan and his guests were treated to a tour of Little Caesars Arena, dinner at Kid Rock's Made in Detroit and 13 tickets to the Red Wings game. Ryan received an autographed Justin Abdelkader jersey (his favorite Wings player), a post-game meet and greet with Abdelkader and perhaps the best thing of all, Forbes, a hockey player in his own right, got to announce Detroit's starting lineup to the Red Wings in the dressing room before the game and fist bumped each Wings player as he took the ice. It was a terrific birthday celebration for a gracious, inspiring and courageous young man and a heck of a hockey player.

Quotable: "It just means the world to me. When you first get diagnosed with this terrible disease it just basically crushes you, but all these hopes and dreams from the Red Wings and everything that today has been, it's truly unbelievable. It's a dream come true. I've been a longtime Red Wings fan and to be in the room and to be honored like that (reading the starting lineup), it's amazing. I really can't put it into words. I had to say a couple of swear words to let them know where it's at (laughs) to just have a lot of fun and we need a win. It was amazing, he (Abdelkader) came over and asked if I was ready to go and shook my hand. It means the world, it really does, it touches you deep down inside when somebody like that approaches you. He's been a favorite of mine for a long time since he was young in the league and now he's grown up. It's truly an honor." - Ryan Forbes
Quotable II:"We're in unique positions as role models in the community for a lot of people and to see what (Ryan) is going through, obviously, cancer is tough, it's terrible that he has to go through it and his family has to go through it, but if we can give him a little support and he can have a good weekend coming down, read the lineup, have a VIP kind of night at the Red Wings game and enjoy this with all his friends, getting him away from the feeling of going through it and uplift him a little bit, that's what we're trying to do. He was great, awesome talking to him, his family and his buddies. It sounds like he's going to have a good weekend ahead. Ryan got us fired up, we came out and had a good (first) period. It was good, he was energetic and enthusiastic for sure." - Abdelkader