Power Outage: Derek Lalonde disappointed after the Detroit Red Wings walked away empty-handed from multiple chances with the man advantage against Vancouver.
The Detroit Red Wings had multiple opportunities with the man advantage against the Vancouver Canucks in Thursday night’s game at Rogers Arena, totaling five power-play chances, three of which occurred in the 1st period alone. However, the Red Wings failed to capitalize on any of these opportunities, failing to register a single shot on goal during each of the first three power plays. Ultimately, this contributed to their 4-1 loss, marking their second consecutive regulation setback, something that disappointed head coach Derek Lalonde.
The Canucks capitalized, while Detroit failed to do so
The Canucks seized an early lead on the scoresheet, courtesy of a costly giveaway in the defensive zone by Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry. J.T. Miller capitalized on the opportunity, notching his 24th goal of the year. Shortly thereafter, Elias Lindholm found the back of the net with a shot from the top of the slot, beating goaltender Alex Lyon.
In the second period, defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who had just served a two-game suspension due to Saturday afternoon’s high hit on Detroit’s Lucas Raymond, extended the Canucks’ lead with a well-placed shot from the point that Lyon struggled to track until it was too late. Detroit rallied when forward J.T. Compher capitalized on a rebound, netting his 100th career goal, injecting some energy into the team. However, their momentum was short-lived.
Despite a pair of power play opportunities in the third period, the Red Wings failed to capitalize, and the Canucks secured the victory with Lindholm’s second goal of the night, sealing a 4-1 win, the final outcome of the game.
Derek Lalonde disappointed by the Detroit Red Wings missing their chances on the power play
Naturally, Detroit could have changed the outcome of the game had they been successful on any of their five power play opportunities. But on Thursday night, it wasn’t meant to be.
“You come in here and you limit a team like that to 21 shots and maybe six chances we gave up, we didn’t just generate offense,” Lalonde said. “Going 0-fer on the power play stung. I don’t know if it was so much execution, but we didn’t finish. And our inability to score on the power play and inability to generate five-on-five probably had a lot to do with Demko, and when a guy is on like that you can feel it.”
“We did some pretty good things but as we’re finding out as you play these upper-echelon teams, there’s a fine line between winning and losing and we have to start flipping it.”
The Red Wings received minimal assistance from other teams tonight, as both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, whom Detroit trails in the standings by a few points each, emerged victorious in their respective games, extending their leads over Detroit by an additional two points each.
“It’s a little frustrating and it’s a very tough part of the schedule and we knew not many teams have gotten points in this Edmonton-Vancouver back-to-back,” Lalonde continued. “But just the difference in the two (games), our offense was buzzing the other night and we gave up too much and (Thursday) we defended pretty well and we didn’t generate enough (offensively). We’ll see how the guys respond.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings suffered their second consecutive defeat on Thursday night, succumbing to a 4-1 loss against the Vancouver Canucks.
- Despite having five power play opportunities, Detroit failed to capitalize on any of them, while the Canucks capitalized on a costly turnover by Detroit to kickstart their scoring.
- Head coach Derek Lalonde voiced his disappointment with the outcome of the game for his team.
Bottom Line: The Detroit Red Wings must pick up points in their two remaining road games this trip
Detroit Red Wings fans still remember the difficult events of nearly one year ago when Detroit’s playoff aspirations were dashed by a pair of devastating defeats at the end of February. Naturally, both fans and players alike are determined not to repeat that scenario.
To bolster their standing in the league, the Red Wings will have a crucial opportunity to secure valuable points when they face off against the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
