The question was posed to Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg shortly after their 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Sunday’s Centennial Classic at BMO Field.
Should the Wings feel disappointed that they blew a third-period lead and fell behind 4-1, emboldened because they rallied to tie and force overtime, or saddened by their ultimate loss in OT?
Zetterberg’s answer basically amounted to all of the above.
“It was nice to see that we could rally and get back there in the third,… Zetterberg said. “Unfortunately, it got away from us a little bit earlier in the third. They took advantage of some mistakes that we did and scored some goals.
“Right now we’ve just got to take away what we did good.…
Right now, what the Wings should really be taking away is that what they did ultimately wasn’t good enough.
The week that was for the Wings on paper resembled what Detroit has proven to be for some time, a team on a treadmill. A 1-1-1 slate began with a home-ice regulation loss to Buffalo, a stinging start for a team seeking to climb the standings ladder. A 3-2 OT win at Ottawa would have better served the Wings in regulation. They are chasing the Senators and could ill-afford to allow Ottawa to get away with a point.
Likewise, the Leafs are in front of Detroit in the playoff chase, so Sunday’s setback hurts even moreso.
Even if you go back to Detroit’s last pre-Christmas game, a shootout win at Florida, they also allowed the Panthers, another team the Wings are pursuing, to get away with a point.
In the end, Detroit finds itself today where it was a week ago - seven points out of a playoff position.
“For us, we need to continue to work on the things we’re lacking, the things that we can get better at,… Detroit forward Steve Ott said. “For instance in that third period there were things that we need to tighten up. A couple of lucky bounces and it goes the other way and gives them a two on one.
“For the first 40, if we play like that, that’s the team we need to be. We’re figuring things out on the go here as well, and you’re starting to see the emergence of some of the young guys as well, which is a pretty proud thing in here as well.…
A team that has won just 10 of its last 29 games since a six-game winning streak from Oct. 17-25, the Wings haven’t managed to put together more than consecutive wins since then and have done that just three times.
“We bounced back but you have to play 60 if you want to play in the NHL,… Detroit forward Tomas Tatar said.
Two games into a seven-game road swing, Detroit needs to get on a roll and fast.
“It’s not getting any easier,… Ott said. “We’re flying back to leave tomorrow again for a heck of a road trip. We’ve got the big wild west with Anaheim, L.A. and San Jose and then you’ve got to face Chicago and Dallas.
“So the rest of the way it’s not going to be easy.…
Zetterberg talked about the fine line between victory and defeat in today’s NHL, a line that the Wings continue to finish on the wrong side of at the end of the night.
“If we would have scored in overtime you probably would have said that we played a complete game,… Zetterberg said. “So there’s little things that decide if it’s a complete game or not a complete game. I don’t think anyone in this league plays a complete game for 60 or 65 minutes.
“It’s about getting the two points. We didn’t do that tonight. But we were close.…
For the Wings, close doesn’t count, because it doesn’t get them any closer to the playoffs.
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