from Ansar Khan of Mlive,
The Detroit Red Wings dominated the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday in what Dylan Larkin called one of his team’s best five-on-five games in a long time.
They have nothing to show for it because of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s brilliant 45-save performance.
Now the message from coach Derek Lalonde is to not let the frustration from a 3-0 loss fester. They can’t afford to dwell on it, being in a tight playoff race.
“One thing I talked about with the guys right after was with all this winning we’ve done lately, I think we’ve done a good job of not getting too high,” Lalonde said. “I think that has led to good performances, good start after good start.
“It’s the same message on a low. Don’t get too low. We got to move on from this. We’re in a really fun chase for a playoff spot. Embrace it, but these are the things that go into it. It would be really easy to put your head down and feel sorry for yourself. Things didn’t go our way tonight, but we definitely could’ve done more.”
Below watch the post game talk.
added 9:53am, the wild card picture is below.
via Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,
Under normal circumstances, absorbing a 3-0 loss on home ice would be somewhat distressing for a hockey team. However, the Detroit Red Wings were expressing plenty of optimsim about their performance in Saturdays 3-0 setback to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena. And they have every right to feel that way.
Detroit outshot the Lightning 45-18. Thats the second-most shots on goal by the team this season. The Red Wings fired 46 shots on Pittsburghs net on Dec. 28.
Were not trying to get too low here, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. We played a pretty good game. I think its one of our best games five on five in a long time. We just didnt score.
Heading to Ottawa for road games Monday and Tuesday, Detroit has lost back-to-back games in regulation just once over the clubs last 17 games.
Were not going to win out, Larkin said. It would be awesome if we did. But its pretty unrealistic. We have to keep responding well and were treating this like our playoffs right now because it is. Were fighting for our lives.
I think theres enough experience, maturity and leadership to drive forward with that attitude. Losing that game when they played well isnt a killer, there are four big points on the road the next two days. Those were some astounding stats last night, especially against a Cup contender. Rarely is TB limited to so few scoring opportunities, but they were colossal ones when they did come.
This game was a glaring example of just how badly we lack finishers to put the puck in the net. The progress this team has made over the last couple of seasons is remarkable, but to take the next step we need real goal scorers. I get it, Vas was brilliant. It happens. Still need a couple high-end offensive weapons. They're difficult to come by so it will be interesting to how Y navigates free agency and the trade market in the coming year.
That said....what an effort from these guys. Prior to the season I said we had basically no chance of making the playoffs (which I was fine with, especially since our upwards trajectory continues), but to be in the mix right now is an effing blast.
The Red Wings played well, but as stated above couldn't finish. They are still in good shape, but need those big points in Ottawa the next two games. It won't be easy.
These posts are spot on. The Wings lack an absolute game breaker, and that was that last night. Nothing wrong with thata lot of teams would say the samebut if you want a Cup, you need a few more big pieces. Not saying anything too surprising, Id imagine.
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