Head coach Derek Lalonde admits to being “shocked” by the awful Detroit Red Wings start against the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
As the popular saying goes, “All is well that ends well.” The Detroit Red Wings secured their second victory in the last three games with a comeback effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night. Late-game heroics from Lucas Raymond, followed by an overtime winner from Patrick Kane, sealed the deal. However, the troubling and rather inexplicable trend of the Red Wings starting the contest slowly and having to play catch-up hockey persisted. Head coach Derek Lalonde admitted afterward that he was “shocked” by the game’s opening frame.
The Detroit Red Wings’ disturbing trend of poor starts continued
It seemed that the dreaded broken record, haunting the ears of Detroit Red Wings fans everywhere, was destined to play on. The Blue Jackets seized a surprising advantage in shots and secured a two-goal lead by the end of the 1st period, eliciting a chorus of boos from the crowd at Little Caesars Arena. This unfortunate scenario only perpetuated an alarming trend for the Red Wings: finding themselves trailing early and appearing utterly overwhelmed, even against teams ranked lower than them in the standings.
The Red Wings seemed disinterested in the opening 20 minutes, conceding a pair of breakaway goals to Zach Werenski and Alexandre Texier, who outmaneuvered goaltender James Reimer in solo efforts. Columbus also dominated Detroit in shots, maintaining a 20-6 margin, a statistic that should be deemed wholly unacceptable against an opponent with zero chance at the playoffs.
The comeback effort kicked into gear during the 2nd period, ignited by a power play goal from Lucas Raymond and followed by a Moritz Seider tally, which was inadvertently deflected into the net by a Blue Jackets defenseman.
However, a poorly timed penalty by Joe Veleno in the third period allowed Columbus to seize the lead with a power-play goal from Kirill Marchenko. Yet, the final seconds ticking away on the clock set the stage for Raymond’s heroics. With just 12 seconds remaining, Raymond notched his second straight two-goal game, banging home a rebound past Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov.
Patrick Kane continued to showcase his clutch prowess, scoring his third overtime-winning goal since joining the Red Wings in late November. Less than a minute into overtime, Kane found the back of the net from a sharp angle, besting Tarasov and securing the extra point for Detroit. This victory propelled them back into the 2nd Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Derek Lalonde admits that he was stunned by Detroit’s slow start
Despite the win, the Red Wings cannot overlook their inexplicably poor performance in the opening frame, a fact that left Lalonde stunned.
“I was flabbergasted, shocked, disappointed,” Lalonde said. “I never thought with this group that it felt like they quit and I couldn’t believe it. With how much adversity and comeback this group has shown this year, the two years since I’ve been here, and I couldn’t believe it.”And they didn’t quit. Huge credit to the push back in the second and to hang in there and not to quit to the end and get the full two points.”
Lalonde also made it clear that the poor opening 20 minutes was discussed in the dressing room.
“I appreciate the push back from the guys and it was a huge moment that our season is not over yet,” Lalonde said. “But that first period was real and it happened and it’s not good enough. We discussed it after the first and I give a lot of credit (to the players).”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings seized victory from the jaws of defeat, rebounding from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 4-3 OT win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night
- The troubling trend of the Red Wings enduring poor starts during games continued, as Columbus badly outshot Detroit in the game’s opening 20 minutes while also taking a two-goal lead
- Head coach Derek Lalonde admits that he was “shocked” by Detroit’s poor start in the 1st period despite the comeback victory
Bottom Line: The points continue to matter
Despite the rocky start, the Red Wings secured a crucial pair of points in the standings with the victory, propelling them right back into playoff contention.
Next up, they face the New York Islanders in a pivotal matchup on Thursday evening. The game is scheduled to commence at 7:00 PM, with television coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and radio coverage on 97.1 The Ticket.
