Red Wings Can’t Afford Another Wakeup Call
The Red Wings got a wakeup call in a narrow overtime win against Columbus. They can’t afford another one as the playoff race only intensifies.
Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports - Red Wings Can’t Afford Another Wakeup CallIf you only watched the first period of the Red Wings’ game against the Blue Jackets, I don’t blame you.
It was a rough watch, one of those disasters which some people can’t avert their eyes from. At one point, Columbus had as many breakaways as Detroit had shots. The Red Wings got outraced and outworked, outhustled and pretty much out-everythinged for 20 minutes straight. At risk of being hyperbolic, it was one of the most uninspiring displays of hockey that this team has shown all season, in large part because it came against the worst team in the Eastern Conference — Columbus — and not even its full complement at that. Down 2-0, outshot 20-5. Ugly.
“I was flabbergasted. I was shocked. Disappointed,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “I never thought with this group that it felt like they quit, and I couldn't believe it. We talked it through in the first and how much adversity and bounce back this group has shown this year, how much this group has shown in the two years I’ve been here. I was just, I couldn’t believe it. And they didn’t quit obviously, a huge credit to the guys. The pushback in the second, and then obviously to hang in there and not to quit right to the end and get the full two points.”
That last part might come as a shock if you were one of the people who turned off your TV. Yes, the Red Wings actually won that game. They battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the second period. Even when the Blue Jackets held a 3-2 lead for almost the final 15 minutes of the game, Lucas Raymond scored his second goal of the night to force overtime with 13 seconds left. Then, Patrick Kane won the game in OT, and with it two critical points for the playoff race.
No, this isn’t a joke. This is just another case of Detroit’s unpredictability these past few weeks.
“Obviously not the first (period) we wanted, but I think we just kind of stayed composed in the locker room,” Kane said postgame. “A lot of positivity even after the first, even after we were down 2-0 just about hanging in there trying to get through it and get ourselves back in the game. … (I) like the response from the group and obviously that’s a huge win for us. Hopefully it gives us some momentum, and hopefully we can look back at this at some point and say this was like a big turning point for our season to get some momentum and obviously two big points as well.”
This game shouldn’t have been a turning point. But if it’s a wakeup call Detroit needed, then it’s a wakeup call it better have received. With 13 games left and a precarious hold on a second wild card spot that four teams are competing for, it has no margin for error. The New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres are all right there nipping at its heels. And forget about the Red Wings doing anything in those playoffs if they don’t clean up their act.
In a way, the Columbus game showed all the characteristics that have defined the various parts of this losing slump, just on a smaller scale. A poor start, a team drained by its shortcomings, then a team renewed and resolved to win by the game’s end. Game to game and period to period, you don’t know what you’re going to get from this Detroit team. At any time, self-doubt and pressure can crack it to the core. They’re a fragile team, albeit a talented one.
“I think sometimes we’re guilty of maybe feeling out the game a little bit instead of taking over right away, and we have the team to do it,” Kane said. “So obviously the starts haven’t been great through this little stretch we’ve been on. But we’ll try to figure that out and next game’s obviously a huge game against the Islanders. So (we) gotta be ready from the puck drop.”
Added Raymond: “I think we just got back to the way we’re supposed to play. I think in the first we were hesitant, playing a little bit on our heels, playing slow and that doesn’t work in this league. So just full pace forward and just got momentum and try to keep that going.”
There’s no margin for the Red Wings to feel out games anymore — the time to do that has long passed. This is a time when teams should know exactly who they are ahead of the playoffs.
Detroit knows who it wants to be: tight-checking, heavy, deep, the kind of team that’s hard to put out. But the gap between that idyllic form and the current state of the Red Wings has never been greater this season.
Maybe you can argue that a disastrous December was worse than this past nine-game stretch, but that Detroit roster was on the ropes due to injuries at nearly every key position. This roster the past few weeks has only missed Dylan Larkin most of that stretch, whose impact is certainly larger than a simple replacement but who also shouldn’t make or break this team. The principles of an identity don’t fade in and out with one player, and the Larkin excuse shouldn’t be entertained anymore.
The real issue is that this team can’t give a consistent effort, whether from wear and tear or from batting their own mental hang ups.
The Red Wings might be in a playoff spot right now. They might even be in one when the regular season ends against Montreal. But right now with their current effort, those playoffs aren’t even worth worrying about, because they’re not going to win in them without some serious improvements. Self-belief, compete level, attitude — it all has to change team-wide and individually.
“Maybe it’s the captain being out,” Lalonde said. “Maybe there’s some feeling sorry for us. Maybe there’s some mental fatigue. You know, ultimately, it’s probably on our coaching staff to start like that. I was, absolutely I could not believe it. But again, credit to the guys and we gotta find some more consistency in our game. Going forward, we have some really tough ones coming up.”
Those tough ones include multiple playoff teams and playoff hopefuls, including the Islanders on Thursday, and Western Conference wild card Nashville after that. In short, the next nine games come against playoff hunting opponents. If there's ever a time to heed a wakeup call, it's now.
Lalonde noted that there is one player — Raymond — who he knows the kind of positive effort he’s going to get. He also said that maybe David Perron fits that category, too. He later said he might consider a shortened bench in first periods to play the skaters he knows he’ll get enough effort from. Despite his proclaimed desire to not name names, Lalonde’s frustrations were evident Tuesday night — and they should be. There can be no passengers in a playoff race, much less the actual playoffs.
That’s not to say Detroit has completely rolled over. They’ve shown fight, like they did in Tuesday night’s comeback. But they’ve also shown their flaws to a frustrating effect these past nine games.
The fight displayed in Tuesday's wakeup call needs to become a mainstay, for all 60 minutes of the game. If it isn’t, then the Red Wings can forget about playoffs and the battle they’re currently in.
And I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped watching.
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