The Detroit Red Wings players know that they must show better efforts against top teams.
The Detroit Red Wings, who began the season with a 5-1 record, have now experienced their third consecutive loss, falling to the Boston Bruins last night with a final score of 4-1. Detroit’s struggles with power play execution were evident, and the team acknowledges that to advance to the playoffs, they must secure victories in games like these.
Detroit failed to convert on a handful of power play chances
According to head coach Derek Lalonde, the loss came down to lack of execution on the power play. The Bruins were able to convert on the man advantage and also scored on a penalty shot opportunity, while the Red Wings were held to a single goal that came in the third period courtesy of Joe Veleno.
The Detroit Red Wings players know they must come through in games like these
“Eventually if we want to be a real good team in this league we have to be able to play against these guys and especially teams in our division,” Veleno said. “If we want to move up in the standings down the road, these will be the games we’ll look back on and games we try to get under our belts and get as many points as we can.”
“We just didn’t come out and play and our effort and compete wasn’t there,” Veleno said. “We have to forget about this one.”
Meanwhile, veteran Andrew Copp, who helped the New York Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022, knows these games are a measuring stick and that they must arrive ready to play immediately rather than later in the contest.
“A lot of it is our start,” Copp said. “We just didn’t come out with the right mindset. We responded well, the last couple of games (they’ve responded) making pushes and coming from behind but we have to get off to a better start and maybe a little more emotion in the game from the get-go.”
“Six-three-and one puts you in a playoff spot (projecting far ahead), while 5-4-1 you’re on your couch,” Copp said. “This is where the maturity in the room has to step up and right the ship here. You can’t let this go on for too long. You can’t let losses stack up.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings dropped their third straight game last night, falling to the Bruins by a 4-1 final score after being unable to convert on several power play opportunities
- Players including Andrew Copp and Joe Veleno spoke openly about the necessity to win games like this if they intend on being a playoff team
- Detroit knows they will have to be able to play with teams like the Bruins in order to take the next step
Bottom Line: The compete level must improve
In alignment with the players’ sentiments mentioned earlier, the Red Wings understand that initiating games against top division opponents promptly is imperative to their goal of becoming a playoff team. They recognize that they cannot afford to squander many of these opportunities.
They’ll have the chance to get back on the right track when they take on another playoff team from last season on Monday night in the New York Islanders.
