from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,
Their opponent was the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team sitting 29th in the NHL overall standings. This was going to be the ‘W’ that would get them rolling. Lalonde expected his team to breathe fire in the first period. Instead, the Red Wings played one of their worst periods of the slump. They were out-shot 20-5 and outscored 2-0 on breakaway goals.
“I was flabbergasted,” Lalonde said. “I was shocked. Disappointed. I never thought with this group that … it felt like they quit, and I couldn’t believe it.”
Lalonde would not reveal the specifics of what he said to his players after the period. “I’ll probably just keep that in the room,” he said....
The win pushed the Red Wings back into the Eastern Conference’s second wild card position, one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and three ahead of the New York Islanders. The Red Wings play the Islanders Thursday.
“So many emotional narratives this time of year,” Lalonde said. “Obviously, if we lose it’s a big narrative. Now we win and we’re won two of our last three and we’re over that line again. Separated ourselves a little bit from one of the teams we’re chasing with. It was huge, but it means nothing if we don’t get a little more battle to start. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves. It’s got to come from everyone. Honestly, going into this game, I thought we would have some jump.”
Kane was involved in all three of Detroit’s goals, setting up both of Raymond’s goals. He admitted it was challenging to stay positive after the disastrous first period.
from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,
With Dylan being out, hes literally driven us to stay in this battle, Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said of Raymond....
On a Detroit team that once again slept its way through the first period, falling behind 2-0, Raymond has become a constant, steadying, reliable presence.
Theres probably been one consistent guy that I know what hes going to give us and thats Raymond, Lalonde said. Maybe DP (David Perron).
I hate mentioning some names but those are the two guys that I can walk into a game and know what were going to get from them....
At this time last year he was tiring, Lalonde recalled. He was not very good. We were worrying how much we could play him down the stretch.
Both of Raymonds goals on Tuesday came from the so-called dirty area in the slot on the edge of goal crease.
The hard play, Lalonde said. Hard area on both goals, the low slot. But his battle, his compete.
more
from Joyn Niyo of the Detroit News,
If Saturdays 4-1 win over Buffalo here was some kind of statement, Sundays loss at Pittsburgh felt like a retraction. And Tuesdays start sure seemed like it might be the epitaph, right up until the end when the Wings managed to flip the script against a Columbus team that has now blown 15 third-period leads, by the way.
Maybe it's the captain being out, Lalonde said. Maybe there's some feeling sorry for ourselves. Maybe there's some mental fatigue. Ultimately, it's probably on our coaching staff (if we) start like that. But I could not believe it.
Its hard to know what to believe with this team right now. As impressive as Raymond has been in Larkins absence, its also alarming that the youngest player on the Wings roster has been the teams most reliable throughout this stretch. Alex DeBrincats assist on Kanes overtime goal was just his second point in the last 10 games. Andrew Copp has just three shots in that same span. Alex Lyon is 0-7 with a 4.97 GAA and an .857 save percentage. And so on....
Again, appreciate the pushback from the guys. That was a huge moment that (said) our seasons not over yet. But that first period was real and it happened and it's not good enough.
It wont be Thursday, when the Wings host the Islanders in what amounts to a four-point game in the standings. And it certainly wont as they hit the road after that, first to Nashville on Saturday, and then on a four-game swing thatll likely decide their postseason fate: at Washington, Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay.
For some reason, we still have a chance on our own to make a run and show everybody what were really built of, Seider said.
But itll take everybody to do that, and a lot more than theyve shown of late. If the Wings are going to finish what they started this season, now's the time to show it.
more ($)
Extended highlights.
#GiveRayAnA
This morning, SportsClubStats has the Wings with a 55.9% chance of making the playoffs, an 8% jump from the previous day.
Compared to...
Tonight the Leafs are in Washington for a 7:30pm game.
Go Leafs Go!
Leafs up 4-2 in the third period.😁
Includes Lalonde pondering Reimer in net tomorrow against the NYI.
I agree that Edvinsson was "really good." He doesn't make crazy passes, hitting his mark more often than not. And I love the fact that he's not taking any sh!t from anyone. In that regard, he reminds me of the way Mo began his time in Detroit, letting everyone know that he's not going to be pushed around.
And I'd ask anyone who thinks Ras, Veleno and Copp are valuable cogs in the Winged Wheel to concentrate on them every time they're on the ice tomorrow. Last night they were my focus regardless of who had the puck. What I saw was all three of them, but especially Ras and Veleno, lose almost every single puck battle they were in. And when they did win an occassional battle, they ended up losing (or giving away) the puck shortly after that. You can't win in the playoffs with that kind of play.
The ras from second half last year is sadly gone awol this season. Never have seen much in veleno.
agree on Ras and Veleno, but more so on Veleno. Ras is hot or cold physically. When he does not play physically it seems like his head is not in the game.
Veleno should spend some money on a sports psychologist.
I understand what you're saying about Ras, but (to me) he doesn't get "physical." His version of that only appears when he gets mad. And then he ends up taking a stupid penalty. Other than those instances, I see him just acting like he's being physical by bumping into people. It's a token move that has almost zero impact on the pace of play.
Veleno not only needs a sports psychologist, he needs a physical trainer (to help him bulk up a bit and get stronger like Raymond did). And he desperately needs someone to teach him how to effectively make and receive passes. Maybe he, Ras and Copp could get a group rate and do it together.
But, honestly, I think the real issue with all three of them is that they have no "hockey sense" at all. Things don't happen "organically" with them. They think slowly, and react even more slowly. And I'm not sure that's something you can teach someone.
Your last paragraph is spot on.
Regarding Ras, I look back at a former Wing who played the same way when he was young, Keith Primeau. Primeau turned out to be a very solid player with the Flyers. Hopefully Ras follows in his footsteps.
At least Primeau threw his body around and would fight. He was very emotional and that was his downfall with the Wings. Otherwise he was a good player.
Wings need a minimum of 8 pts. out of the next 6 games just to keep pace. I don't foresee them getting much more than that, if that. Well it is springtime so if the Wings fall apart I can at least enjoy the outdoors.
"You can see that poise which makes him so special can get him in trouble, too. And he did that a couple of times. Coming back into our zone, ended up turning it over. Even in the third, Im like, (Johnny) Gaudreaus gonna pick your pocket. Everyone saw it and felt the same way. And he almost did. If it wasnt for him being 6-foot-7, or whatever he is. He probably would have."
Lalonde's tiresome public comments on Edvinsson's mistakes is disgraceful since the "vets" make way more mistakes in a single period than #77 does in the entire game and they're never called out publicly. I'm beginning to have some negative thoughts of Lalonde.
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