Despite the disappointing loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday evening, Lucas Raymond and the Detroit Red Wings are looking ahead.
The Detroit Red Wings came up just short against the Boston Bruins in what was one of the biggest divisional games of the season.
Despite taking a 2-1 lead early in the third period thanks to the 35th goal of the season from forward Alex DeBrincat, the Bruins scored twice in short order not long afterward, taking a 3-2 lead en route to what was eventually a 4-2 victory.
In doing so, the Bruins moved two points ahead of the Red Wings in the tightly packed Atlantic Division standings.
Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov scored the game-winning goal only a few minutes after teammate Elias Lindholm had knotted the score at 2-2; Boston then added an empty-net goal with John Gibson on the bench for an extra attacker.
The Red Wings got goals from Lucas Raymond (power-play) and Alex DeBrincat, but weren't able to further solve Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who turned in one of his best performances of the season with 41 saves.
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The Red Wings had no problem getting pucks on net, especially during the third period when they outshot the Bruins 22-6.
Raymond recorded four shots on goal and scored his 22nd of the season just days after head coach Todd McLellan said his shot totals were too low.
When asked how he's felt since the resumption of the schedule after the Olympic break late last month, Raymond said that while he's feeling good, he's well aware of his role on the team: to provide offense.
"I feel good, obviously, I know what my role is on this team, and shots have been a thing that we talk about a lot," Raymond said in the dressing room afterward. "It creates so much of it, not just for me but the entire team. So, I think myself and the team did a better job of it tonight.
Like I said, I think if we play like we did tonight, we'll win a lot of hockey games."
McLellan immediately said he approved of Raymond's shot-first mentality on Saturday, but he also created space for his teammates.
"I liked his game, I thought he had a shot mentality and scored a goal because of it," McLellan said. "Because of his shot, he opened up ice for other people, rebounds, and deflections. He took shots from good scoring areas, but also went to the net and looked for rebounds and found garbage."
"I liked his night."
The Red Wings find themselves in a familiar position, locked in a dogfight for a postseason spot much like they have been over the past two seasons.
However, Raymond, one of Detroit’s most clutch players during the 2024 stretch run when the team finished just one point shy of the playoffs, says the mentality in the dressing room feels different this time around.
“For sure, it's really tight at this time of the year, and we've been in these spots before,” Raymond said. “But I think that the mood in the group, the mentality of the group is different right now. We're coming off a really good game against Montreal, we were right there tonight and there's a ton more games to come.”
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