Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg spoke with Aftonbladet’s Per Bjurman after the Red Wings’ 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Zetterberg made it clear that the Red Wings are not giving up on their playoff hopes, even though the team knows that their odds of actually making a playoff spot are long (and what follows is roughly translated from Swedish):
Zetterberg: “Just hang up the phone and hope”
New York. Will the Detroit Red Wings get into the playoff race after all?
They won their second game in two days with an overtime win over the hard-luck New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden tonight, and they’re suddenly “just” five points behind the playoff line.
“Yes, but there are many teams in between us, so it will be tough. We have to win virtually every game now,” says Henrik Zetterberg to SportBladet after the 3-2 win.
It seemed that Henrik Lundqvist and his hard-working friends had the chance to break their long losing streak that, not completely unexpectedly, was the result of the sale of the “Blueshirts” team, lasting a couple of weeks and reaching its peak today, Monday.
In the middle of the third period, Jesper Fast managed to take away what was previously a 2-0 lead from the guests from Michigan, and then the Rangers had all the momentum.
“Good management”
But they at least got a point–in itself a little success, given how things have happened in Manhattan in the end.
With only six seconds remaining in the overtime period, Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley elegantly scored the crucial 3-2 tip-in goal.
“Yeah, that was a good move,” says Henrik Zetterberg when we meet him afterwards. “At the same time, it was good for us to come back after they took away our lead so late. And it feels good that we have finally won a couple games in a row.”
“Must sharpen our details”
Yes, because that means that the Red Wings actually have a hook into the playoff race in the east–at least a little bit.
They have five points separating them from the line now.
“Yes, but there are many teams in between, so it will still be tough. We must win virtually every game in the future,” Zata continues.
“It’s a little frustrating to keep in mind that we’ve lost some games by losing leads late in games last week. But a good team wins those games, and we simply have to make sure that our details are tightened up and getting closer to closing when we have the lead.”
Now come the few hours when all NHL players hold their breath–including those in Detroit.
At 3 PM on Monday, East Coast time in the United States, the league’s trade deadline hits, and no one can be 100% sure if he’s not going to be sitting on a plane to a new hometown sometime during the day.
“No, for those who don’t have no-trade clauses, it will be a little sweaty. But there’s nothing that you can control, it’s just getting rid of your phone and hoping for the best,” says Captain Zetterberg.
