MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the fact that the Red Wings are finding ways to lose “winnable games” of late:
They lost 5-4 at San Jose on Nov. 18 on Macklin Celebrini’s goal 46 seconds into overtime. Brad Marchand snapped a tie with 8:30 remaining in the third period for a 2-1 Bruins’ victory Nov. 23.
New Jersey scored three power-play goals including the winner by Jack Hughes in the third period for a 5-4 win last Friday. Two days later, Erik Brannstrom tied it with 3:20 to play in regulation before Jake DeBrusk scored in overtime to lift Vancouver 5-4. They lost 2-1 Tuesday in Boston on Pavel Zacha’s OT goal, following a non-call after they thought Alex DeBrincat was tripped behind their net.
And then Thursday they suffered their most frustrating loss, 2-1 at Ottawa, when Josh Norris whipped in a shot from the slot off the rush with 42 seconds left in the third period.
“It seems like we give up two points a lot of nights and that was one of them,” DeBrincat told FanDuel Sports Network. “We played well enough there to get the win.”
The fact the Red Wings (10-12-4) are only three points out of the final wild card spot speaks to the parity in the Eastern Conference and the inability of many teams to gain separation. Still, having six clubs between them and that last playoff spot makes their task all the more difficult.
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