For two successive springs, the Tampa Bay Lightning put the Detroit Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wings could have played a role in returning the favor on Thursday but as has been the case of late involving games with the Lightning, the Red Wings didn’t strike, they struck out.
Instead of playing spoiler, the Wings simply looked spoiled in a 5-3 loss to the Lightning, who are scrambling to grab an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot in the postseason.
“Not good enough,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said bluntly. “I didn’t think we had enough guys ready to go from the drop of the puck. We certainly had some that were competitive but too many guys that didn’t have their ‘A’ or ‘B’ games.
“You’re not maybe going to have your ‘A’ game every night but then you got to have your ‘B’ game.…
Detroit, eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday, finished 0-4-1 in its season series with their Atlantic Division rivals. The Wings have now lost nine regular-season games in a row at Tampa Bay and six games overall to the Lightning.
“I thought we had at least the same amount of chances but we’ve got to work too hard for our goals, and we let in goals too easily,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said.
Mantha Hurt Detroit forward Anthony Mantha did not return after suffering a finger injury in a first period fight with Luke Witkowski.
“He’s a tough kid, plays hard, stands up for himself, which is great to see,… Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader said. “Sometimes those are unfortunate things that can happen in fights.
“I thought he did a great job. I’m proud of him.…
Playing their fourth game in five days, the Wings were left to skate much of the night with just 11 forwards.
“Mo is a big body,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “He’s been playing really well for us. It was tough to lose him that early in the game and also moving forward here. We’ll see how bad it is.
“Going down to 11 forwards, with the schedule the way it has been the last few weeks or so it’s more minutes for other guys. We’ve been playing a lot of hockey lately, but in saying that I think everybody is going, everybody is trying. It’s not for lack of trying.…
Zetterberg Milestone Drawing an assist on Danny DeKeyser’s second-period goal, Zetterberg reached 900 points for his NHL career.
“Obviously I’ve got to give credit to all the players I’ve been playing with,… Zetterberg said. “I’ve been playing a lot of games and playing a lot of games with good players.
“I’ve got to say thanks to them, because without them I wouldn’t reach that.…
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