"These Are the Moments of the Season that You Need": Red Wings React to 4-3 Shootout Win over Los Angeles
The Red Wings turned around an 0-2 deficit to beat the LA Kings 4-3 in the shootout. Here's what Robby Fabbri, Alex Lyon, and Derek Lalonde had to say after the game
After 20 minutes of hockey in Los Angeles, the Detroit Red Wings—who finished the first period in an 0-2 hole—appeared on their way to another humbling defeat. Instead, Detroit turned around the deficit, took a lead of its own, lost that, then persevered in the shootout to take a 4-3 win over the Kings.
Robby Fabbri sparked Detroit's comeback by shoveling home an Olli Maatta centering pass from the top of the crease, cutting the Kings' lead to 2-1 midway through the second period.
As the period drew toward its close, Jeff Petry fired home a long-range, old fashioned clapper to tie the game at two.
Early in the third, Fabbri added a second to give the Red Wings their first lead of the night at 3-2 with just shy of 15 minutes to play in regulation. The goal came in the dying breaths of a power play after Patrick Kane set up a Daniel Sprong one-timer, which produced a rebound that Fabbri buried.
However, an Adrian Kempe goal 10 minutes later tied the score, forcing overtime and eventually a shootout. As with Detroit's lone previous shootout (last month against Philadelphia), the Red Wings got a pair of saves (this time from Alex Lyon instead of James Reimer) and goals from Lucas Raymond and Kane to secure victory in the skills competition.
With the win, Detroit earns its first pair of consecutive victories since December 2nd and 5th (against the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, the culmination of a three-game winning streak).
Here's what Fabbri, Lyon, and Derek Lalonde had to say after the game:
Robby Fabbri
On the performance: "A game like that, where you've got to grind it out over a full 60, overtime, and a shootout, it took everything. It's a good team, and it's a tough building to come into, so we're really happy with that road performance."
On resilience after poor start: "That woke us up a little bit and got us to our game. We saw what made us successful there in the second, and we kept it going."
On scoring from the net front: "That's kind of every game. We want as much traffic as possible and to get guys there. Both of those worked out."
On Lyon: "He was great tonight, like he has been all year. He's always making that extra save that sparks the bench, and it's nice when you can grind one out for a goalie that's playing well."
On whether team has turned a corner after December struggles: "We definitely feel it in here, and we're not satisfied with just three or four games. We know that good teams put stretches together, and that's what we're trying to do here."
Alex Lyon
On result: "It's huge. Given the stretch we've been on here the last month, we showed some great resilience last game and showed some more resilience tonight. These are the moments of the season that you need in order to gain some momentum and right the ship, and getting off the mat is one of the hardest things you can do in this league, in any league really. Incredibly happy and proud for the guys."
On playing in a game with lots of shots against: "I would've really enjoyed it if I didn't let in the first two shots of the game. It would've been a bit nicer if I could've made it easier on myself and the team. That's just the name of the game. There's gonna be highs; there's gonna be lows. We'll have lows going forward, and we'll have highs going forward, so being able to remain calm in pressure situations is vital."
On whether this opportunity is what he was waiting for during the first month and change of the season when he didn't play: "A chance like this, but whether it was six weeks or two months or three months, it's kinda the same thing. You just gotta believe in yourself. And I just felt like, especially coming out of last year, I had the confidence, and I learned a bit more, and the more games I played the more I learned. Not to say that it's gonna be easy moving forward, but I think that belief in myself has gone a long way."
Derek Lalonde
On getting the win: "For us to play that poorly in the first period and for us to bounce back like that in the second against a very good team, this is a quality win for us."
On how much credit Lyon deserves: "A ton...As we were coming back, as good as our second period was, he made some big saves in it. As good as our third period was, he made some big saves in it. As good as our overtime was, he made some big saves in it and got us to the shootout, and we cashed in there."
On message after the first period: "We were on our heels. The sagging of our gaps...just not ready to play. That was the biggest concern. We gave up the zone so easily. I just don't understand it. When we're a good team, we're on, we're on our toes, and we're gapped up. We just had a saggingness about us; we were just giving them easy entries. The first two goals were the direct result of that. So just asked the guys to get a little more on their toes, a little more connected in the neutral zone and not give up lines."
On Fabbri: "Even though he's not the biggest guy, he's going to the hard areas. Both his goals are in the blue paint. He's got a good stick, and if he gets himself around there, he can finish. Really good on him."
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