from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,
Other than the final outcome, there was plenty to like about the performance of the Detroit Red Wings in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the Nashville Predators.
“You want to win every game but ultimately what you’re looking for is to play the game the right way and to just bring your best and have a good effort,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon told Bally Sports Detroit.
“It felt like we had that tonight, in a hostile building against a good team that’s obviously playing really well right now.”
On the one hand, he’s right, but here’s the thing – during a late-season playoff race, the bottom line is that the outcome is all that matters. A team isn’t looking to make a point with their play. They’re looking to gain two points in any manner possible.
The Washington Capitals are a point behind the Wings with two games in hand.
Winnipeg is in D.C. for a 12:30pm game.
The Jets lost yesterday afternoon, 6-3 to the Islanders which saw Hellebuyck replaced in the game.
All I can say is: Sigh...
Yes, they did play well enough to win on the road, which may be a good sign, but does not help the standings with 11 games left. They were defensively responsible and matched up well the whole game. It looked to be a game that would be decided on a scrum, which it turned out to be.
The caps today only had 11 shots on goal in two periods against Winnipeg, but then converted a power-play and then an Ovechkin goal so theyre heading down the stretch leading by two goals on Winnipeg and overtaking the wings with one game still in hand.
Final, 3-0 Caps.
The Caps are earning their spot in the postseason by beating teams that are frankly better than they are. Beating the Canes and Winnipeg on in back-to-back games with an early start time is what playoff teams should be doing.
The Wings are losing to teams they should beat.
The Wings have 2 games against the Caps (the first of which they have an extra day of rest on the Caps) so they have an opportunity--but they are running out of time.
So you're saying there's a chance... :)
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