The Detroit Red Wings lost a 2-1 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, and the fact that the Red Wings surrendered the lead with only 42.8 seconds left…
It sucked.
Detroit’s now 0-2-and-2 in their last 4 games, and the mighty Avalanche come to town for a rare home game on Saturday night (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Altitude; the Avs lost a 5-3 decision to Carolina in Raleigh on Thursday, so they’re not going to be in a good mood).
This team just doesn’t seem to know how to get out of its own way right now, and at 10-12-and-4, it’s losing ground rapidly in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division.
I’m a little lost as to where I think that the Red Wings are going right now. I’ve tried to remain as positive as possible, believing that this team at least has the talent and wherewithal to extricate itself from its incredibly mediocre start, but if it keeps stumbling over its own collective skates, I don’t know what’s next, other than a coaching change and some personnel moves to attempt to stabilize a ship that’s listing badly.
Thankfully, at a moment where The Fourth Period reports that the Wings are open for trading business, and John Buccigross says that the Red Wings need no less than 4 more good forwards, 3 defensemen, and a star goaltender to turn things around, the Red Wings’ captain is speaking logically:
Dylan Larkin after the loss in Ottawa “I don’t think any one is coming in to save the day, we have to find it from within.” #LGRW
— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) December 6, 2024
Whatever this 10-12-and-4 team is becoming, I’m not expecting a savior or multiple saviors to come out of the woodwork to turn the ship around. Whatever happens, until and unless a coach is fired, and until and unless trades are made, it’s up to the coaching staff and players who are here right now to light a fire under the players’ asses and it’s up to each and every one of the Red Wings’ players to be better on a shift-by-shift basis to get the hell out of this mire and muck that is being in the middle of the middle of nowhere.
If you missed this one watching the Lions beat the Packers on “Thursday Night Football,” the Canadian Press offers a bare-bones recap…
It was far from perfect but the Ottawa Senators will take points any way they can.
Josh Norris scored his second goal of the game with 41.6 seconds remaining to give the Senators a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.
The Michigan native had played well all night and salvaged what was an otherwise frustrating outing by the Senators.
Ottawa (10-12-2) controlled the game for long stretches and dominated the shot clock, but struggled to beat Ville Husso. The Detroit netminder made 30 saves.
Ottawa opened the scoring at 12:14 of the first period when Norris was able to get his own rebound and put it past a sprawled Husso.
Ottawa outshot Detroit 13-4 in the second period.
Detroit tied the game at 6:15 of the third while on a 4-on-3 man advantage. Alex DeBrincat caught Linus Ullmark moving for his 11th goal of the season.
Ullmark had 19 saves.
You’ll have to excuse the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch for being a little exultant after the Senators won on the “Pizza Line’s” reunion evening…
Nothing has come easy for the Senators and this night was no different as the club scored a 2-1 victory in a must-win game against the Detroit Red Wings in front of 16,830 on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Norris scored his second of the night with 42.6 seconds left by firing a blast by Ville Husso to give the club the win.
Ottawa had good chances on Husso and completely outplayed the Wings, but it took Norris’ last-minute winner. Linus Ullmark wasn’t tested a lot but he made the necessary stops.
The Senators came into this one with just three wins in their last 10 games and this was the first of four against the Wings this season. This is one of the teams the club will have to battle for a playoff spot.
This four-game homestand is pivotal and if the Senators want to be a playoff contender, nothing less than a sweep is acceptable. Ottawa was 3-1-0 against the Wings last season and that dominance must continue.
“We stuck to it, we waited to get our chance and it was an amazing shot by Josh. That was a huge goal,” said winger Drake Batherson. “We said this was a four-point game against these guys and to get the win in regulation is big.”
Coach Travis Green told the players in the morning they had to have “a win 2-1 mindset”. That’s exactly how it played out.
“There’s been a lot of talk about our team slipping a bit when things aren’t going our way and we just stayed the course,” Green said. “We took what the game gave us. We earned the win. Every once in a while, you get a game in the season you term a big game, it was against a division rival, and we got the two points and deserved the win.”
For Oxford, MI’s Josh Norris, there was a bit of revenge-against-the-home-team going on in his mind after the game, as he told NHL.com’s Callum Fraser:
“Before the game we said we’re [going to] win it 2-1, and we won 2-1,” Norris said. “Good job by the guys just hanging in there. I thought we played for each other.”
Norris took a pass from Drake Batherson as he entered the offensive zone and ended it with a wrist shot into the top left corner from the middle of the slot.
“That’s a tough one,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “We think we’re getting a point, we played well enough to get two points and we get zero with [43] seconds left. There’s no reason we shouldn’t still be playing that game in overtime right now.”
Batherson had two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves for the Senators (11-12-2), who had lost two straight.
“There’s been a lot of talk of our team slipping a little bit when things aren’t going their way and we just stayed the course,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “We took what the game gave us but earned a win.”
The Red Wings don’t need or want to hear it, frankly:
Alex DeBrincat scored, and Ville Husso made 30 saves for the Red Wings (10-12-4), who have lost four in a row (0-2-2). Detroit was 1-for-3 on the power play; Ottawa was 0-for-5.
“We won the special teams battle, we gave up two goals on the road,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “We’re going to look back, we outchanced them 5-on-5, this is a game you hope to take at least a point out of. Unfortunately, we didn’t there in the end.”
And the captain went a step further:
“We just battled,” Larkin said. “Our penalty kill was good, ‘Huss’ was good. It was a tight checking game; it was a playoff-style game. We had looks, we had looks there at the end in the third period. We didn’t capitalize and they go down and score, and it stings for sure. It’s time to start playing some hockey and not just [settle] for an overtime loss or get one point. We’ve got to get two points.”
As the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted, coach Lalonde was circumspect after the game…
“Points in six of eight games (now nine), and a lot of positives in our game,” Lalonde told reporters. “But there are moments we can manage our game better. We are doing some positive things and executing. But we’re sitting here and trying to get some traction.”
Norris patiently tucked a puck behind Husso at 12:14 of the first period after a scramble in front of the Wings’ net. The goal was the 10th of the season for Norris.
Ottawa outshot the Wings, 32-20, limiting the Wings to only four shots in the second period (outshot 13-4). But the Wings came out firing in the third period, outshooting Ottawa 8-5 and getting the power play goal from DeBrincat, until Norris’ heroics.
The Wings could breathe a sigh of relief Thursday after Edvinsson returned to the game in the second period after missing several shifts. Edvinsson to be favoring his right side after falling awkwardly in a collision with Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk.
In the end, the Wings let a quality scoring chance in the slot with under minute left in the game defeat them. The Wings, basically, have been doing just enough in many of these games to lose.
“I didn’t mind our game,” Lalonde said. “We can take some maturity in managing our game. Not a grade A chance (on the game winner) but a quality B chance from the slot. Manage our game and don’t give that up and take it to overtime. It’s those little things that keep finding us.”
Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff also took note of some of Lalonde’s remarks to FanDuel SportsNet Detroit…
“Very encouraging, especially against a power play like this,” Lalonde said. “Hopefully, we keep building it. Have not hated the penalty kill of late. It’s just finding a way to get in the back of our net.”
Winger Patrick Kane was back in action following a five-game absence due to an upper-body injury. Joe Veleno was a healthy scratch.
Lalonde was confirming that neither of the club’s injured goalies – Cam Talbot or Alex Lyon – will be available for Saturday’s home date against the Colorado Avalanche.
“I don’t expect him over the next couple of games,” Lalonde said of Talbot.
Might we see the NHL debut of 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa?
“Ville was good tonight,” Lalonde said. “We’ll figure out a goalie for Saturday.”
DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills reports that Larkin isn’t going to leave anything up to chance, if he can help it…
Despite their collective frustration of falling short in their road-trip finale, Larkin said the Red Wings have to pick themselves up and “stay with it.”
“We have to find it from within and show what we’re capable of,” Larkin said. “We have a tough matchup at home on Saturday, then we’re back on the road and then we’re at home until Christmas. It’s time to start playing some hockey and not just set the bar for an overtime loss or getting one point.”
Among Mills’ post-game quips and quotes:
Lalonde on Detroit’s penalty kill against Ottawa
“Our PK was a step forward. I’ve actually liked our PK structure as of late. It was just finding ways to sting us and end up in the back of our net. Tonight was the night we had good structure on it. We had quality throughout and kept it out of the net.”
Larkin on moving past Thursday’s game
“It was a tough one tonight. Really tough to lose in that fashion and to get zero points. The mindset in our room is we got to get two points, start winning hockey games and getting on a roll here. We’ve been in this position before. I don’t think there’s anyone coming in to save the day.”
Larkin on if it was difficult for the Red Wings to get a flow going during the game
“It was choppy. You just got to stay in it. Against a team like that, you got to be on your toes every minute. They forecheck hard and play with the puck. It’s hard to generate, so we had to grind a lot. There’s no reason we shouldn’t still be playing that game in overtime right now.”
DeBrincat on looking at the positives and learning from the negatives
“Just come to practice ready and obviously start our next game strong. We got to take advantage of our games at home, and we’ll get back on the road and do our thing there. Can’t get too down, too high on the highs or too low on the lows. We got to find a way to win these tight games.”
Multimedia:
Highlights: Sportsnet posted a 10:15 highlight clip:
NHL.com posted a 9:57 highlight clip:
Post-game: The Senators’ website posted clips of Josh Norris, Nick Jensen, Drake Batherson and coach Travis Green’s post-game comments;
TSN posted a post-game interview with Josh Norris and a recap in which Marc Methot and Claire Hanna weigh in on the game;
And the Red Wings’ website posted clips of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and coach Derek Lalonde’s post-game comments:
Photos: The Free Press posted a 17-image gallery;
The Detroit News posted an 11-image photo gallery.
Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:
Also of Red Wings-related note: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses Michael Rasmussen’s strong play of late:
Rasmussen, for his part has a goal and two assists in the last four games (giving him four goals and four assists for the season) while playing either with Larkin and Raymond, or on a checking line with Andrew Copp and Christian Fischer.
Lalonde feels Rasmusen is doing his usual lunch-bucket stuff, while making things easier for Larkin and Raymond.
“He gets those guys some space and gets to those hard areas (of the ice),” Lalonde told reporters Thursday. “He’s around the goalie. Analytically, they scored two and gave up zero, but they were a dominant line. One of the more dominant lines we’ve had. It’s only (one) game, one sample size, and our lines will be fluid, but that was a positive look.”
At 25, Rasmussen (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) is already in his sixth NHL season and carving out a career as a versatile big forward who can fill a lot of roles. As the net-front guy on the power play Sunday, Rasmussen scored a goal while displaying some good hands around the net and the ability to obstruct the opposing goaltender’s vision.
“He’s got a great skill set in front of the net and a big body,” Larkin said. “You saw another big guy battling with him (in the Vancouver game) and Ras won the battle, (and) it was in the back of the net before you knew it. You understand why he was touted like that coming out of junior.”
But some of the Rasmussen’s strengths rest mainly in the intangibles, doing whatever it takes to make a winning play.
“He’s a warrior,” Larkin said. “You see the block he made at the end of the (Vancouver) game to get us a point. He does everything right for us and he’s a heart and soul of our team.”
