Winning isn't everything.
Actually, for NHL teams, it's everything. And the Detroit Red Wings have been great at winning hockey games since the new regime of Todd McLellan came behind the bench.
That wasn't the case on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who proved they still have the firepower to dominate the league.
Here are four interesting stats from the loss for the Red Wings.
37 Shots to 18 Shots
The Red Wings massively out-shot the Lightning. Unfortunately, the Lightning scored on six of their shots, while the Red Wings only scored three.
Classic case of good goaltending versus bad goaltending. The combination of Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot was no match for the likes of Brandon Hagel and company.
24:29, 22:11, & 20:08
A bright spot for the Red Wings can be found in the deployment of their defenders. If you want to know how a coach actually feels about a player, you look at their ice time.
Judging from the minutes dished out last night, McLellan liked what he saw out of Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, and Albert Johansson. Those three blueliners had the most ice time out of the six who dressed for the game. They are also 23, 22, and 24 years old respectively.
Despite the loss, the Red Wings have some great young defensemen on their team.
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7 Unblocked Shot Attempts
Dylan Larkin was working his butt off trying to get the Red Wings some goals. He led his team in unblocked shot attempts (7).
Five of those shot attempts turned into shots on net for the Red Wings center. Unfortunately for Larkin, none of those shots materialized into a goal for him.
44 Percent
On Saturday, the Red Wings were 44 percent in the faceoff circle. Everyone except Joe Veleno and Larkin struggled.
Larkin won 12 of his 18 draws, while Veleno won three of four.
Andrew Copp won 31 percent of his faceoffs, Michael Rasmussen 27 percent, and J.T. Compher lost all five of his draws. If the Red Wings want a chance to win more hockey games, improving in this aspect is a great place to start.
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