The Detroit Red Wings turn westward on a note both unhappy and hopeful.

Unhappy because they couldn't find a way to win a close game on New Year's Eve against the top team in their division; hopeful because they're off to California to play three times, and sometimes going on the road can help a team bond and re-energize.

"It's frustrating for sure, especially coming off last game," Ben Chiarot said after Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Atlantic-leading Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena. "We were looking to build some momentum going into a long road trip.

"I think heading out on the road will be good for us, get the team together and look to build momentum out in California."

PARTY POOPERS: Red Wings rally, then fall in chippy 5-3 loss to Bruins on New Year's Eve

Two empty-net goals make the score look more lopsided than the game was: It was 2-2 entering the third period, and 3-2 in favor of Boston with 16 minutes to play. The game was right there for the Wings to grab.

"That's part of the maturation of a team, especially a young team," Chiarot said. "Winning those tight games, knowing how to hold a lead, those are things that we are working on here. It takes time to know and be comfortable on how to play those games and that's something we're figuring out still."

Coach Derek Lalonde called it, "an opportunity missed. We did some quality things. You look back at the game, we could have easily won that game. Probably our most complete 60 minutes from start to finish in a while. It just came against a team with a very slim margin of error to be successful.

"It's just a little disappointing that they only had one chance in the third, and it was a missed faceoff assignment and ended up in the back of the net. Hopefully we can build off this a little bit because our actual full process for 60 minutes was pretty good."

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The Wings have been going through a tough 3-9-1 stretch, their performances marred by egregious defensive mistakes. Those were fewer against the Bruins, but on the flip side, the power play didn't convert until the sixth opportunity, when J.T. Compher scored with 1:22 to play.

"I thought we had chances," Compher said. "You're judged on goals and we weren't able to capitalize early in the game, but I thought we did some really good things, had some good chances."

Lalonde said that, "you're a little frustrated when you don't get looks. It just didn't go in the net. That's their recipe - they're a high-compete, well-coached team that leans on elite, elite, elite goaltending."

The Wings (17-16-4) were scheduled to leave early enough Monday that they could be at their hotel in San Jose, California, to watch the Rose Bowl, featuring No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama. They play the Sharks on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings go on the road frustrated over missed opportunity