from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

“I thought our work ethic was great,” Blashill said. “There were certainly moments in the Tampa game where our work ethic was really good and then there were moments where it wasn’t good enough. We can’t be that — we have to be an every-shift, work-ethic team and tonight our work ethic was great the whole time.

“That doesn’t mean we didn’t make mistakes — we made lots of mistakes. We can live with mistakes but you can’t live without having an unreal work ethic, being highly competitive and as detailed as possible and we did a good job.”

Being able to close out in regulation was a relief for a team that over the previous four games twice had blown three-goal leads.

“The last couple wins, with Anaheim and this one, we’ve been able to find ways to win those tight games,” Blashill said. “That’s real important. I think we’ve taken real steps forward.”

more on the game headlined by Witkowski's first goa...

Below,. watch highlights from the 3-1 win and post-game reaction.