Protecting a one-goal lead late in the third period requires a balancing act – maintaining enough offensive pressure without taking unnecessary risks.
The Detroit Red Wings failed at this Saturday in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena.
The Red Wings led 1-0 most of the night on a goal by Dylan Larkin at 8:41 of the first period. But they couldn’t give themselves a cushion. Ryan Dzingel tied it with 6:29 remaining in the third period and Clayton Keller scored 22 seconds into overtime.
“You got to find ways to grind out those games like that to a win,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We played good enough to win the hockey game, so it’s unfortunate to walk out and not have won. We created enough scoring chances to win. I thought overall we defended much better.”
The Red Wings (8-9-2) continue to be streaky. In the past three weeks, they have gone 0-3-1, followed by a 4-1-0 run and now another 0-3-1 skid.
They squandered an opportunity to pick up two points against the team with the worst record in the NHL (3-13-2).
The Red Wings started the trip with a 5-3 loss in Columbus Monday, a game they led 3-2 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
“I thought the biggest thing that hurt us tonight was we got to continue to learn how to play real smart, how to not give them much in the third but sustain pressure and score the next goal,” Blashill said. “They had more pressure than we did in the third. They double-shifted that line with Keller and (Phil) Kessel and they sustained a ton of pressure. So, it’s a learning process for our group and it’s something that at times I think we’ve done well. This is a hard league and you got to continue to find ways to grow as a group.”
Larkin, who has six goals in his past seven games and is tied for the team lead with Tyler Bertuzzi (nine), lamented his team getting shut out over the final 51 minutes.
“We got to capitalize. We got to find a way to score,” Larkin said. “We had a ton of chances. (Goaltender Scott) Wedgewood played good, but we got to find a way to score. Hit a couple posts, couple looks on the power play, but we just got to find a way to score. When we get a lead, late in games, 10 minutes, we can’t panic, we can’t sit back and defend for 20 minutes, we got to play some offense and play smart. We didn’t do that tonight. You can’t win games very much 1-0.”
The Red Wings, 3-7-1 on the road, look forward to returning home to face St. Louis on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit), following a much-needed three-day break. Detroit and Montreal have played more games (20) than any other team.
More: Red Wings skid hits four games
"close" - Google News
November 21, 2021 at 10:49PM
https://ift.tt/3CQ5c01
Red Wings losing points due to inability to close out games - mlive.com
"close" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QTYm3D
https://ift.tt/3d2SYUY
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Red Wings losing points due to inability to close out games - mlive.com"
Post a Comment