All the Detroit Red Wings want for Christmas is to score two or three goals in the same game.
The Wings fell for the sixth straight time and via a familiar refrain, dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to the Colorado Avalanche Sunday at Joe Louis Arena. It left Detroit with just six goals over that and it was the club’s third shootout loss during the slump and sixth in seven shootouts this season.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock found himself feeling like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day, living the same frustrating sensation over and over again.
“I don’t like coming to the scrum every night and saying the same thing,” Babcock told the gathered media. “But we’ve got to find a way to score goals.”
Since five of the losses were one-goal setbacks, Babcock allowed that perhaps his team was being lulled into a false sense that things aren’t as disconcerting as they truly seem to be.
“Sometimes you wonder if being close is always the best thing,” Babcock admitted. “Sometimes when you lose by a touchdown, then you really dig in and get it going.
“I don’t want that to happen by any means. We’ve been close, but we’re not generating enough offence. How do we go about doing that? We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time talking about it.
“I think as a group of players and coaches, we’re sick of what’s going on.”
Shootout Sorrow
The Wings went down in the NHL’s skills competition yet again, but couldn’t blame this one on Jimmy Howard. With Howard out due to a lower-body injury, Petr Mrazek got the call in goal and was solid. After surrendering goals on the first two shots, he wasn’t beaten again until Jarome Iginla went five-hole for the winner in the ninth round of the shootout.
“Petr held us for quite a bit, for nine attempts, so it was a good chance, just bad luck for us,” said Detroit forward Tomas Tatar, who tallied on his shootout attempt.
Home Woes
Mrazek hasn’t enjoyed much good fortune on home ice as a Red Wing. He’s now 0-4 at the JLA.
“I feel great and I was very comfy, but I think it doesn’t matter right now; we don’t have the two points,” Mrazek said
You can hardly blame him for that. Over the span of 293:57 in the six appearances he’s made on home ice as Detroit’s goalie, the team has netted just a pair of goals in support of Mrazek’s efforts.
“I know the guys feel real comfortable playing while he’s in there,” Detroit center Riley Sheahan said. “Aside from his goaltending skills and stopping the puck, he’s amazing at playing the puck, too. When you have goalie back there who can break you out it’s easy to get into the other zone.
“He’s an amazing goaltender.”
Lineup Shuffle
When Xavier Ouellet was assigned to AHL Grand Rapids to make room for back-up goalie Tom McCollum, it left an opening on the Detroit rearguard. The void was filled by Jakub Kindl, a healthy scratch the three previous games, a fate the defenseman has suffered on eight occasions already this season.
“It’s always an opportunity,” Babcock said of Kindl’s return to action. “Each night’s an opportunity. Here’s your opportunity. What are you going to do with it?
“Someone else must have played the day before Cal Ripken played for the next 22 years. Someone must have been in that spot.
“I don’t know who it was.”
It was Floyd Rayford, who surrendered his third base spot in the Baltimore Orioles lineup to Ripken on May 30, 1982 in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, launching Ripken’s major-league baseball record 2,632 consecutive game streak.
If Kindl wants to put together any sort of run of games, he needs to shore up his work in his own end.
“Go back and get the puck and get it going,” Babcock explained. “I’ve got no problem when you’re looking up ice, and no problem in the offensive zone. But in the end, you can’t outscore your mistakes.
“You’ve got to do good things. The whole thing about the game is the best guys get to play. If you want to be one of those guys you’ve got to dig in and make sure that happens.”
The other lineup switch gave Daniel Cleary one million reasons to celebrate Christmas. Cleary drew in on the fourth line in place of Joakim Andersson.
“For a change,” Babcock said. “No reason.”
It was Cleary’s 10th game of the season and his contract calls for a $1 million bonus once he played 10 games.
As for Howard, the Wings don’t feel his ailment is of a serious nature.
“It’s not a big deal I guess, but I hear that all the time and it’s 10 days later and the guy shows up,” Babcock said.
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