from Ansar Khan of MLive,
Their 4-1 victory Thursday over the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena was their seventh in eight games, moving them into a tie for the final playoff position with Florida with three games in hand.
What’s changed? Not a whole lot, according to coach Derek Lalonde.
“The underlying numbers are almost similar – same amount of chances against, we’re still defending well,” he said. “I think the difference is we’re managing our game much better. Our special teams is much improved, and our goaltending is at another level. I don’t know if our game is a whole lot different, but we’re just finding ways to flip some of these tight games.”
Ville Husso continued his strong play with 30 saves, vital because teams often are sluggish in the first game back after a long trip (five games). Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and got help from linemates Michael Rasmussen (goal, assist) and David Perron (two assists).
“We’re understanding how to play the game,” Copp said. “I think that even when we get leads, we’re playing pretty mature. We’re not forcing plays to the middle. We’re not getting too many guys up in the rush. I think we’ve got to be really strong defensively. Special teams have been rolling pretty good. (Husso) has been pretty good, too. I think that’s our recipe and then just being hard to play against, not giving them time and space.
What an amazing run this team has been on since the all star break. The extra long break coupled with the team having almost ever player available since the beginning of the season definitely helped. They are playing some solid hockey and the MVP is Husso. Without Husso that win streak does not happen.MVP runner up Larkin.
Reminds me of the start of the season. They have a rough road ahead that could get even rougher with subtraction(s) at the deadline and/or injuries. My hope coming into the season was that they were playing meaningful (for the playoff race, not draft lottery) games in March and barring a total meltdown that's what we should be seeing.
Playing with real good structure lately and Hussa has been unreal, 7 wins in 8 games is very enjoyable.
The team is so hot that even Murray and his "fire Blashill" sarcasm disappeared.
Weird how much better a team plays when players know spots on lines, minutes, or even being dressed are at risk, and others are in contract years.
Agree with Newsey, the team is playing very sound in the defense end, credit to him & staff, good job on his part.
Wallman went from a toss in as part of a trade package, to stabilizing our top 4, to really being a catalyst player in the last 2-3 weeks. His ability to move with the puck and move the puck along side Seider results in earlier cleaner controlled exits. He's become a UFA priority for Stevie IMO.
Agree on Walman. Tough schedule ahead, but it's been fun 2 weeks
I am number one on the list of people who didnt expect this for February. Detroit actually has the highest winning percentage among wild card teams. This is 100 points, a full 10%, worse than the Division #3 team, and this percentage compared to others can change quickly with just a couple of wins or losses. Theyre all still close.
Did Detroit hit the NOS button too soon, or is there enough in the tank to play .600 the rest of the way.
Best game of the year for Husso. And unquestionably the best game of the year for Copp. He's starting to look like the guy who was such a force for the Rangers during the playoffs last year.
Were understanding how to play the game, Copp said.
Isn't it amazing how well the team plays when they do what Lalonde and staff have been preaching since the start of the season. It looks like a total team buy-in at this point.
And you can't overlook the fire that Larkin brings to every game. He seems absolutely determined to prove to Yzerman that he's worth $9M a year. And who knows? Maybe that was Yzerman's goal all along in playing hardball with the captain. But now he's going to have to pay up because this team needs the Larkin were seeing thsese days.
There is some genius in your thoughts on Yzerman vis a vis Larkin.
breakout year for Ras continues, next up, Velano? Z? (if they're still here next season..)
revenge games due for sabres, leafs, flyers, and hawks.
Ras has been great.
The first appearance of the Peloton of Suck since maybe 2016! Im a little out of practice but lets see how this looks from screenshot to blog.
Although partly covered up, the flatline by the Capitals and Penguins is huge.
The DoPShitheads ought to refund Larks' $5,000.
Great win by the Wings.
"Flyin' low, feelin' mean." - Tommy Milner, Corvette Racing.
Rumors are SY is not trading Bert or anyone else at the deadline trying to push for the playoffs. Risky move. We might not make playoffs and lose Bert, Walman, Suter, etc for nothing in summer. On the other hand the fans have been waiting for 7 years and our team finally will be playing important games in March.
For sure trading away key pieces right now would not sit well with the fan base, at a minimum.
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