Untimely penalty trouble leaves the Detroit Red Wings frustrated despite a furious comeback effort against Ottawa.
The familiar struggle that haunted the Detroit Red Wings against the Ottawa Senators in consecutive games last season appeared to resurface today in Sweden, as the Senators surged to a commanding 4-0 lead. Yet, the Red Wings showcased remarkable resilience, mounting a fierce comeback with four second-period goals, leveling the score before ultimately falling in overtime. But it was Detroit’s penalty trouble that proved especially harmful, as Ottawa converted on the man advantage and also enjoyed a pair of late game power plays thanks to errors on Detroit’s end.
Ottawa jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Detroit fought their way back
At the close of the first period, Detroit led in shots against Ottawa but trailed 3-0 due to two goals from Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk. Early in the second period, Michigan’s own Josh Norris extended Ottawa’s lead to 4-0.
Local talent Lucas Raymond ignited Detroit’s resurgence in front of a supportive audience at Avicii Arena, netting a goal against goaltender Joonas Korpisalo during a 2-on-1 rush. This sparked a rapid succession of Red Wings’ goals by David Perron, Alex DeBrincat, and Shayne Gostisbehere in under four minutes, evening the score at 4-4.
The third period remained scoreless, despite late power play opportunities for the Senators due to a Detroit line change mishap and a delay of game penalty on Ben Chiarot. Both teams had chances in overtime until Tim Stutzle‘s dramatic last-second goal, batting the puck past a stunned James Reimer, sealed the win for Ottawa.
Penalty trouble cost the Red Wings
Despite Dylan Larkin enduring an awkward injury in the third period, managing to tough it out and rejoin the game, he found the penalty trouble ‘disappointing.’ Nonetheless, they can find consolation in securing a point in the standings, especially after trailing by four goals initially.
“Very disappointing, we had our chances in overtime and we had good looks, but it’s hard to be in that spot,” he said of the penalty trouble. “We did a good job in getting a point tonight.”
It was deflating, but like I said previously, we had chances to win the game and we did a good job in putting ourselves into that position,” he continued. “But the time and how we took those penalties was tough.”
“When you’re down four goals and you get a point, you’ll take the point,” he said. “It just feels like with how well we were playing five on five, we could have gotten more out of the night.”
Head coach Derek Lalonde would later state that his team “got what we deserved” thanks to their furious comeback effort.
“When you’re down four goals and you get a point, you’ll take the point,” he said. “It just feels like with how well we were playing five on five, we could have gotten more out of the night.”
“We talked about managing our emotions, we know we’d have to manage our emotions within this game,” he continued. “A perfect example, we were down 3-0. I asked them to stick to our game plan and what has made them successful for the most part this year, and they did that….I think we got what we deserved.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings faced a daunting 4-0 deficit against the Ottawa Senators before mounting a remarkable comeback to level the score.
- Despite their efforts, the Senators emerged victorious in overtime, securing a 5-4 win in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Derek Lalonde and Dylan Larkin expressed disappointment with Detroit’s penalty troubles, recognizing their costly impact on the game
Bottom Line: No rest for the weary
The Red Wings won’t have much time to dwell on this loss, with their next game against the Toronto Maple Leafs set for tomorrow.
The puck drop is slated for 2:00 PM EST, airing on Bally Sports Detroit for television viewers and 97.1 The Ticket for radio listeners.
