|
Making their point not good enough |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, they got a point.
True, they’ve grabbed seven of eight points from their last four games.
That being said, Detroit Red Wings Jeff Blashill hit the nail on the head when he pronounced their performance in Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss at Buffalo to the Sabres as not good enough.
“We had the lead late in the game and we gave up the late goal,” Blashill said. “You want to finish that game. I thought there was some positive things we did tonight, but you’ve got to finish the game.”
Chasing an Eastern Conference playoff spot and seeking to make up ground, half a loaf won’t get the job done when both halves were there for the taking.
“You’ve got to find a way to get two points and not walk away with one,” Blashill said.
Power Outage
Detroit did open the scoring with a first-period power play goal, the the fourth road power play goal of the season for the team but the Wings failed to capitalize during a man advantage situation in overtime against Buffalo’s NHL-worst penalty-killing unit.
Shortly thereafter, Detroit’s Frans Nielsen went to the penalty box and Kyle Okposo netted a power play winner for the Sabres.
“You get a four-on-three, you’ve got to score, and then they get a four-on-three and they score, so that’s the difference in the two points,” Blashill told reporters. “We’re in a spot where we’ve got to win hockey games. We were in position to win in two different facets - one with a lead late in the game and two with a power play in overtime.
“We’ve got to find a way to get it in.”
Returning In Style
Playing his first game since a Nov. 15 shoulder separation, forward Darren Helm scored the goal late in the third period that gave Detroit its brief 2-1 lead.
“I thought Helmer was buzzing tonight,” Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “Him and Abdelkader on that line were pretty solid. They compliment each other well. Abby made sure Helmer had space. He was going to the net hard and Helmer was making some nice plays and potted one there in the third.
“Hopefully there’s some chemistry there and they keep that going.”
Blashill was another who liked the play of those two with Luke Glendening on the fourth line.
“I thought they all play the same way,” Blashill said. “They all want to play north-south, they’re gritty, they’re hard, but they’ve got enough offensive ability to produce offense, too, and can kind of produce it on their own.
“I like that line. I thought they did a good job. I think it can be a positive for us moving forward.”
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»