The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime last night, and this morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan have posted “morning after” recaps.
The Free Press’s Helene St. James focuses on the ways in which the Red Wings have changed their team…
They return home for a brief appearance Friday against the Florida Panthers riding a two-game winning streak. Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals was the best demonstration yet of how different the Wings are from the previous two seasons: Down by a pair of goals early in the second period, there was no panic, just patience. The reward was a 3-2 overtime victory.
“That’s the difference for us, is winning these tight games,” forward Adam Erne said after contributing a goal and an assist. “It shows a lot of character. It’s a highly skilled team with a lot of big names, and we just stuck with it, stuck to the game plan and eventually it paid off.”
Another good example came in the season’s third game, in which the Wings outplayed the Columbus Blue Jackets the first two periods but were stymied by the goaltender. In the past, that scenario would have seen the Blue Jackets score on a fluke and win. This season, the Wings kept working and banked two points.
“We’ve been in situations where we found our way to wins, and that breeds confidence,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s part of it. We have some guys that have matured over the years in terms of living through that. As hard as some of those moments are to live, you hope you grow. A number of our guys have grown even through some of the difficulties we’ve faced. And then we have some new faces that have a calm demeanor to them, and just kind of keep playing.”
Coach Blashill continued while speaking with MLive’s Ansar Khan:
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said the difference this season is a higher talent level and a stronger belief they can win.
“We have a better hockey team, so you have a better chance to come back, and with that you have more belief, and belief that you can come back in those types of situations,” Blashill said. “I didn’t feel any frustration or panic on the bench at all. We just kept playing.
“To come back and have a chance to win in overtime you need good goaltending against that team. They have a lot of talent, and they make plays out of nowhere.”
To comeback is an experience they could receive this year but will always be something that will help them down the road when they get behind again.
With the individual will to win comes with youth that is very new feeling. The average age of the team must have dropped a lot, Ken Holland would be on the phone trying to bring in experience,