DETROIT -- Tucked in the corner of the Detroit Red Wings locker room, taped to a corner wall next to a Coke machine, is a copy of the April 29th edition of ESPN The Magazine. On the cover, the Red Wings were boldly called the best hockey team ever.

The copy in the Wings' dressing room has been doctored somewhat. Not only are the mugs of some 15 players that didn't make the cover glued on, but a piece of tape covers the word "ever" and replaces it with "today."

"Code Red," the headline reads, "Why the Wings are the best team today."

Wrooong.

Maybe yesterday. Maybe tomorrow. But not Tuesday.

In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, the Carolina Hurricanes were clearly the better team, their 3-2 overtime win hardly a fluke.

Afterward, while some tried to blame the Detroit loss on the heavily favored Red Wings overlooking their lesser-talented opponent, and others wondered if there was a hangover from the emotionally draining Colorado series, the players themselves admitted something different -- they stunk.

	“	I didn't like our whole game. I don't think there was anything to like. ”
		— Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings

Said winger Brendan Shanahan: "I didn't like our whole game. I don't think there was anything to like."

Center Kris Draper: "It wasn't pretty."

And goalie Dominik Hasek: "We can't be at all happy about that."

Depending who you talk to, the Red Wings said they were outhustled, outmuscled, and oufinessed by Carolina. But it can all be fixed. Even though teams winning Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals have gone on to win the series 79.4 percent of the time, the Red Wings -- with loads of veteran leadership and playoff experience -- are far from done.

"The more we play them," captain Steve Yzerman said, "the more we'll get a feel for what they like to do and then we can make our adjustments."

There will be plenty. For one, Detroit knows it need to improve its passing. On Tuesday, the Red Wings were far from sharp, committing 10 giveaways, seven more than the Hurricanes.

"That's the biggest thing," Yzerman said. "We need to be better with the puck. We have to make crisper passes. There were too many times when we had the puck and were ready to get it out, but weren't able to do so. And they took advantage."

In addition, the Red Wings said, they need to match Carolina's aggressiveness.

"We need to forecheck better," Sergei Fedorov said. "There were a lot of times where they would push us and knock us around in the neutral zone and we could not get the puck going. That has to change. They had a big advantage there."

The third adjustment is perhaps the most shocking. The talent-laden Wings, who supposedly put their egos and individual ability aside for the collective good of the team, need to play more like that team and less like individuals, according to Shanahan.

"We tried to make things happen that weren't there," Shanahan said. "It was like we were trying to win it on every single shift. We weren't doing the things we were doing that brought us success in the earlier rounds."

The reason?

"I think sometimes when you are at home you want to impress the crowd," he said. "You want to make things happen. But they are a patient team and sometimes you have to play patient as well."

The Red Wings are confident that these little tweaks can carry them later in the series. But one has to wonder: With coach Scotty Bowman having built a reputation on in-game adjustments (his moves are often compared to that of a chess player), why do the Wings need a day off to fix everything? Why couldn't they have countered in the second period, third period, or even in overtime?

"I don't know," Draper said. "It just didn't happen. We failed to make the adjustments we needed to."

Which is where there might be cause for concern. What if Carolina is not only for real, but continues to give Detroit fits with its aggressive, defensive-minded style? What if, like Tuesday, Detroit continues to struggle on the power play? What if ...

"It's not the end of the series," said Yzerman, the calming voice of reassurance. "It's only one game. We'll make our adjustments and we'll be fine."

He's no dummy. Like the magazine cover says without the edit, this is still one of the most talented hockey teams ever put together; a team that knows how to come back. Against Vancouver in the opening round of the playoffs, the Red Wings lost both games at home before winning four straight to advance.

So there's no need to panic -- yet.

"Carolina played the way a team is supposed to play in the Stanley Cup finals and we didn't," Shanahan said. "But we know it and we'll get back to it."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.