The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the Red Wings’ 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens this morning, offering something of a “post-mortem” of last night’s loss:
“We just got out-competed and out-worked,” defenseman Moritz Seider told reporters after Saturday’s loss. “That’s a very frustrating feeling. Coming in here, obviously we had a gameplan but couldn’t really emphasize on that. Now, we just have to turn the page and regroup. Find a way to win hockey games, especially find a good reason to get to the locker room the next couple of days with a little bit different energy.”
Brief lulls in the Wings’ overall game cost them dearly in both losses to the Canadiens. And when their game dipped, it erased any chance of a victory. What’s missing in the Wings’ game right now?
“The intensity over 60 minutes,” Seider said. “It’s hard to win when you have little dips and lags in your game. Obviously you’re not going to be perfect every time, but we always have to aim for perfection. We’re just not good enough right now.”
It’s deep enough in the NHL season where it’s fine to talk about jockeying for playoff spots. Being eight points away from a potential playoff spot with six teams to pass is hardly a good position, no matter how relatively close the standings look.
“It definitely hurts us standings-wise,” forward Joe Veleno told reporters of the defeats. “Bigger picture, obviously it’s a long year. But we got to realize how crucial these division points are and how you can really get a leap on teams by winning in your division. It’s a four-point weekend that we just let slip away.”
Continued; things are tough all over right now.
