Head coach Derek Lalonde pushes back against what he feels is a misleading stat that is plaguing the Detroit Red Wings.
The month of December concluded on a disappointing note for the Detroit Red Wings, culminating in a 5-3 defeat at Little Caesars Arena against division rivals, the Boston Bruins.
The Red Wings' struggle to secure wins when scoring three or fewer goals persisted, extending their record to 0-17-1 in such games this season. However, head coach Derek Lalonde views this statistic as “misleading.”
Derek Lalonde pushes back against the “misleading” stat that is plaguing his team
Lalonde addressed the concerning trend facing his team, specifically the absence of victories with scores of 3-2 or 2-1. He expressed that this statistic doesn't provide the complete context or a comprehensive view of the team's performance.
“That’s a misleading stat because we have two shutouts and a lot of those four-goal games we’ve given one or two or three goals,” Lalonde said afterward. “Of course, our defense needs to improve,” Lalonde said. And against Boston, it did. Just not enough to garner two points.”
Lalonde then went on to say that he felt his team's effort tonight was perhaps their most complete start-to-finish game of the season, though it yielded a disappointing result.
“Probably our most complete 60 minutes from start to finish in a while,” Lalonde said. “Just came against a team with a very slim margin of error to be successful. It’s a little disappointing. I think they only had one chance in the third and it was a missed face-off assignment and in the back of the net.”
TL;DR (too long didn't read)
- The Detroit Red Wings were defeated at the hands of the Boston Bruins tonight at Little Caesars Arena by a 5-3 final score.
- With the loss, the Red Wings are now 0-17-1 this season in games in which they fail to score more than three goals.
- Head coach Derek Lalonde pushes back on what he feels is a “misleading” stat, saying it doesn't show the whole picture.
Bottom Line: Detroit must start accumulating points
Regardless of how Lalonde feels about the stat, the simple fact is that his team has not won a single hockey game this season in which they don't score at least four goals. While it's a positive that Detroit's offense has improved this season, their defensive play and goaltending have to improve if they are to have a realistic shot at the postseason.
The Red Wings are now preparing for a three-game road trip starting Tuesday night at SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks. The game kicks off at 10:30 PM EST and can be watched on Bally Sports Detroit, with radio coverage available on 97.1 The Ticket.
