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The Red Wings are hoping that nostalgia moves fans enough to ignore the current state of the club. It was 90s night at Little Caesars Arena and clips of the old rivalry against Colorado ran continually throughout the broadcast. Even that trip down memory lane wasn’t able to spark the club to a win.
The first period saw began with some jump, and at 5:48 Mantha scored a beauty. He was net front, kicked the puck to his stick and popped it in. That was Mantha’s 15th goal in his 40th game. A reminder of what we’ve missed this season, as that would put him on pace for 30. Colorado, however, took over the rest of the period outshooting Detroit 14-4 for the period with a goal from Namestikov at around the 13 minute mark. Detroit got solid goal tending and was able to shut down 2 power play attempts by the Avs.
The second period looked a bit more evenly matched, but Detroit failed to convert on 2 power plays including about 17 seconds of a 5 on 3. The physical tones picked up and Robby Fabbri laid a huge hit on Landeskog at around the 14 minute mark but just seconds before O’Connor found himself alone in front of Howard and scored his second of the season. Even though Detroit failed to cash in on their man advantage, there was good puck movement. Sam Gagner adds a different dimension, and seems to be clicking well with the team.
At near the 15 minute mark of the second, Colorado seemed to take over. Detroit was hemmed in their own end as the shot clock gave a game total of 20 - 9 in Colorado’s favor. The Wings couldn’t get any sort of meaningful forecheck going while the Avs top line dominated in possession on the cycle. This led to the inevitable penalty with less than a minute to go. Mercifully, Nielsen drew an interference penalty just 18 seconds into the power play and the teams went to 4 on 4 for the last 30 seconds. The period ended seeing Larkin upset about a missed high sticking call and Mantha streaking in all alone, though missing on the opportunity. Detroit is fortunate to be only 1 goal behind Colorado at this point. Official shots on net after 2 are 21-10 in Colorado’s favor. One stat that jumped off the page, Detroit was out hitting Colorado 26 to 10. The physical response has been sorely missed of late. This is a team that needs to try and wear down the opposition.
At the beginning of the third, the broadcast focused on Dimitry Timashov. The young forward is looking to mak an impact quickly and get his NHL career on track. He certainly skates a bit faster than the previous owner of the #15 sweater. The period saw the 4 on 4 wind down and Detroit’s abbreviated power play failed to make an impact. At around the 4 minute mark Mantha caused some excitement with a scoring chance that went wide. He, Bertuzzi and Larkin all managed to get some open ice. At 5:30, the Filppula line with Gagner and Fabbri had a brief stint into the offensive zone. Gagner still shows the ability to make plays and set up his teammates.
At 7:37 a missed check by Bertuzzi led to a holding penalty on Daley. These are the type of plays that frustrate. Had the forward sealed off at the boards, it would have contained the forecheck and avoided the penalty. This team let’s too many opportunities go by through the neutral zone. Detroit was able to kill it off and even see an opportunity with a 3 on 1 directly after. Unfortunately, the puck didn’t even make it on net. Detroit was energized by the kill and the top line was buzzing around. Hutchinson made a nice save on Mantha. A minute later Biega had a nice attempt (set up by Fabbri) but Detroit is still unable to get a second point on the board.
At 13:00 Gagner had another nice setup with a pass in front of the net, but was unable to connect with a teammate. His drive down to the goal line showed some of the skill that the once heralded forward still possesses. Able to deke and redirect defensemen in order to create space.
At 14:14 (double Fabbri!) Detroit caught a break and got a power play with a “too many men… penalty that so confused the officials they had to go to commercial to figure it out. The first minute was wasted due to poor passing and bad decision making. Colorado managed to chip the puck down the ice with 40 seconds to go. The second unit was unable to capitalize but had a couple good looks.
At 18:15 Detroit pulled Bernier and Gagner had a beautiful chance, set up by Mantha. Unfortunately, unable to connect. Detroit had some good puck movement but Colorado did a nice job shutting down passing and shooting lanes. With 34 seconds left, Colorado iced the puck and Detroit called for a timeout. Ultimately, to no avail. Detroit put in a solid effort, and that was a welcome sight. The Wings outshot Colorado 8 to 6 in the third, but ultimately were outshot 27 to 18.
And so, another loss in the books. With just 14 games left, if Detroit ran the table and won all of them, they would still only have 28 wins on the season. That is a tough pill to swallow. Some new faces on the team have helped bring energy, but the results remain the same. This is a team that just cannot win a hockey game. Endless frustration has clearly taken its toll on the group.
You can’t help but wonder who will still be here next October. Yzerman has made no effort to re sign any of the free agents at this point. The management group is now scouting these games and likely making those decisions.
This team is now off until Friday when they face Chicago. We’ll see what a few days of practice do for this squad and their recently acquired skaters. It would be nice to see the team hit 20 wins this year.
So, what did you see out there? Reason for hope? Reason for nope? Let me know in the comments.