"It's Kinda Spiraling Right Now, and It's a Lot of Hockey, but We Can't Make Excuses": Red Wings React to Loss in Winnipeg
Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, and Derek Lalonde react to Detroit's 5-2 loss to the Jets
The Detroit Red Wings suffered their fourth straight loss last night, losing 5-2 in Winnipeg. Here's what Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, and Derek Lalonde had to say after the defeat.
Dylan Larkin
On what he saw from the game:
"It's kinda spiraling right now, and it's a lot of hockey, but we can't make excuses. We had to come into here and find a way, and we didn't. We found the opposite. We lost our D zone coverage; we've been struggling with that of late, and they exposed us tonight. We hung [James Reimer] out to dry with back doors and extended O zone shifts for Winnipeg. We've really tried it all the last couple weeks...it's gotta come from within the room."
On what to do when you feel like you've tried everything and none of it has worked:
"We're just in a rut. It's frustrating. We're trying, but it's not clicking right now. Offense isn't clicking, and you can't win hockey games playing D like that. When we get five guys back, we've gotta simplify and grind it out. We didn't do that tonight. We had a good start, but we maybe felt too good about our game. And then, they got going over there and came in waves, and we just defended so poorly."
On staying on top of things mentally when on-ice results are going the wrong way:
"We need one, and we need it bad. We're gonna have to get desperate. We've got Philly coming in on Friday, we're at home, and we gotta get desperate and find a way to get something to hang our hat on."
On the strength of the Jets' game:
"They sag a lot in the neutral zone, and you chip pucks to them, and they go D to D, and they're flying up the ice. We were kinda playing into their hand with chipping pucks behind them. They just had little bump plays and rims, and they won the board battles to get to three-on-twos or four-on-threes, and they grinded us that way."
Moritz Seider
On trying everything without getting positive results:
"We really tried, and it just feels like we're always a step too late. We're not really connected on the things we're trying to get done—say the forecheck or the breakouts. It feels like one split second is always kinda off, and we're chasing the game. Overall, I think we just lost our battles today, and you look at the scoreboard and finding yourself down a couple, and obviously it's tough chasing."
On issues other than D zone breakdowns:
"I honestly think that's the point. We're not hard enough in our zone. I think we're making it pretty easy for them to score. If you look at the goals they scored today, they didn't really have to work very hard for them. We're just kind of giving Grade A chances to them, and that will hurt you. That was the result tonight."
On how veterans might help get through a difficult stretch:
"Obviously it's gonna help, but they're not gonna just step up and be game-changers for us. It has to be the whole room. We're definitely capable of that, and it's just a matter of time of us coming together and trying to do the simple things over and over again and then gain momentum from a block, a good PK, or a momentum shift on the power play. We just gotta come together as a team."
Derek Lalonde
On overall impressions of the loss:
"Lapses in our game. Liked our start, felt a little unfortunate to be down 1-0. Liked our start of the second. We got it back to being 1-1, and then they had a little push, and then we had a really poor end of the second, and that's that lapse. We find ourselves down 4-1. I tried to push on the guys between periods not to feel sorry for themselves, not to feel frustrated. For the most part they did that. We had a pretty good third period, probably should've got it to 4-3, and then we had that lapse again—D zone breakdown...and it ended up in the back of our net."
On what Winnipeg did well:
"It's frustrating in that there's some good moments even to our D zone, but it's these lapses where we just break down and everything's ending up with some easy offense against us. I think it's just more the message of 'all the time.' We've gotta work toward a complete game."
On staying positive during a skid:
"That's the challenge—not to get frustrated. Again, I thought for the most part the group did that. We'll try some different things going into Friday again. Obviously, David Perron coming back will help our group, but it's just complete hockey. It's on everyone. These small lapses—there's some team lapses in there, some individual lapses in there."
Also from THN Detroit
