Red Wings 0, Flyers 1: Detroit Falls Flat in Philadelphia
The Red Wings fall to 15-11-4 with a shutout loss in Philadelphia
On Saturday night in Philadelphia, the Detroit Red Wings' best chance of the game came with about 30 seconds to play. Ville Husso had been pulled for an extra attacker some two minutes and 30 seconds prior, and the visiting Red Wings were pushing for a late equalizer.
A blind Michael Rasmussen pass from the wall snuck through the legs of Sean Couturier and to the blade of Patrick Kane in the slot. Kane—who has a history of scoring big goals against the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center—fired just wide, but even then the hosts weren't through the danger.
Lucas Raymond had a stuff attempt off the rebound. Shayne Gostisbehere fired that rebound back into danger from the point. Rasmussen and Kane each had a chance to knock home the puck amidst a net-front scramble, but instead it crept back toward Gostsibehere at the point.
The Florida-born defenseman tried twice to get off a shot but couldn't manage it. Ryan Poehling threatened to carry the puck to the empty net waiting at the other end of the rink, but Gostisbehere hauled him down—a tripping minor.
The danger had dried up, and visitors' fate was sealed. 16 seconds after Gostisbehere's trip, the final horn sounded, and the Red Wings had fallen 1-0, having scored a single goal in their last six periods.
It took a desperation six-on-five situation for Detroit to muster any serious threat on the Philadelphia net, and in truth, that late-game flurry wasn't so much a string of clear chances as a 10 to 15 second run of well-placed chaos—enough to inspire a last glimmer of hope but not to realize it.
The game's lone goal came in the first period. Flyers defenseman Cam York shook free of Kane off an interchange with Travis Konecny. He skated down the half-wall to the right of Alex Lyon and threw the puck toward the net after crossing the hash marks. York's pass banked off the stick of J.T. Compher—who was attempting to box out Sean Couturier at the back post—and past Lyon.
It was a bad break for Compher—playing in first game in 11 days—and the Red Wings, but coming as it did just 6:21 into the game, it seemed Detroit would have plenty of time to answer.
Instead, the Flyers took over the game with their defense—lending the evening an unwelcome similarity to Thursday's home loss to Carolina. It wasn't so much that Philadelphia kept the Red Wings from ever finding their way to the offensive zone, but once Detroit got there, there was precious little room to create.
The Red Wings tested their hosts with dumps in behind the defense, and the Flyers stood up to those tests time and again—absorbing body checks and exiting cleanly despite Detroit's attempts at disruption. When a Red Wing shot made it through to Samuel Ersson in goal, there was seldom a rebound.
When asked by Bally Sports Detroit's Trevor Thompson after the game what the Red Wings were missing, coach Derek Lalonde said his team was plagued by a "lack of execution."
"Some plays that we've made in similar situations we didn't make tonight," Lalonde told Thompson. "We were a little slow. I'd like to get a little more off our forecheck. Our second guy on the forecheck wasn't there as much tonight, and we just didn't keep enough plays alive."
The disappointing evening was made worse by the injury bug's persistence. Just as Compher and Klim Kostin returned to the lineup, Lyon was forced to exit the game due to injury midway through the second period, having made 13 saves on 14 shots.
If there was good news to come from the game for Detroit, it was that Ville Husso looked sharp in relief, despite being thrust straight into immediate pressure with Jake Walman picking up a minor penalty on the play where Lyon fell injured. Husso ended his night having stopped all 14 shots he faced.
The Red Wings (now 15-11-4) failed the test posed to them by another team vying to claim an unexpected playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Of course, the combination of injuries and a frenzied schedule are relevant context, but that context won't show up in the standings, nor does it change the fact that on Saturday night it was the Flyers who looked hungrier and better organized for 60 minutes.
"We knew this was going to be a really tough part of our schedule, and I think we've gotta dig a little deeper here," Lalonde said to Thompson. Digging deep will have to start with finding more offense.
To be smothered by Carolina on Thursday could be dismissed as a one-off. Rod Brind'Amour's Hurricanes have been one of the NHL's stingiest teams for years now, and Detroit was on its third game in four nights. However, appearing devoid of attacking threat in consecutive games—regardless of who is in the lineup—becomes a more disturbing trend in the hyper-competitive East.
The Red Wings' will have a chance to buck their trending offensive malaise back home at Little Caesars Arena Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
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