They are elite athletes, they're not going to skate in quicksand just because they had a game yesterday. Especially not mid-season when players are in 100% gameshape. Later in the game their legs can wear out for sure though.
9 times out of 10, a team that has had a long layoff comes out a bit flat. People are so negative anytime this team doesn't dominate for 60 minutes.
Oh yes, they're elite athletes. So are the Wings and yet somehow the Wings skate like they're in quicksand. I guess being at home and practicing has an awful effect on elite athletes and their level of fitness in comparison to traveling and full exertion.
Let's just ignore the schedule since we've apparently turned all knowledge on sports around and have decided it is in fact an advantage to be on a long road trip with a lot of games in a short time span. The simple reality is that the Wings are at home playing the Canucks - who lose 2/3 of their games and coming into tonight's game had lost their last 6 road games.
And if you actually watch the game you know fully well the Wings didn't just 'not dominate', they got dominated, they got outplayed.