Franzen: Red Wings were a team that looked "drained"

There was an interesting look from Johan Franzen’s perspective as to why the Red Wings floundered the way they did in the playoffs.
When the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers after the loss to Nashville a few weeks ago, Franzen felt the Wings “have to have more fun out there”.
Franzen saw a Wings team that looked “drained” in the playoffs.
“We need to have more fun out here, get some confidence back,” Franzen said. “We looked like a drained team kind of, in most of the games. Get some joy back and start believing in ourselves, knowing that we’re a good team and play for each other.”
The Wings were 7-11-4 at the end of the regular season, then lost in five games to Nashville. A Wings team that was atop the league at mid-season, won a record 23 consecutive games at home, became the first team to be eliminated during the playoffs.
“We didn’t have a good ending to the season,” Franzen said. “You have to come into the playoffs with confidence, otherwise it’s so tight.
“We played the first four games, we took it to them, but when we made some mistakes and they scored as soon as we gave them one chance. It’s demoralizing when you have the pressure much the whole game and you make one mistake and they put it in the net.
“But we still should have found a way to win more games.”
Franzen, who scored one goal in the five games, was one of many Wings who didn’t have a good playoff series.
“(I) couldn’t really get anything going,” Franzen said. “That’s the way it was. I don’t really know why, (I) just couldn’t get it in the net.
“It’s always frustrating when you lose, that’s the most frustrating thing.”