There’s been much you could question about the performance of the Detroit Red Wings this season but even in this season of discontent, there haven’t been many games this season where the Wings have looked listless and passionless.
Tuesday was the exception to that rule. The Wings looked out of sync and a step slow as they fell 2-0 on the road to the Ottawa Senators.
Playing their eighth game in 12 days, perhaps the grind of a season which they know is now two games from an end got the better of the Wings, even if captain Henrik Zetterberg would hear none of such talk
“Everyone in here, they’d rather play games than practice,… Zetterberg said. “We’re not complaining about the schedule.
“It’s been a lot of hockey but we’re trained for it, too.…
You can ask what do the Wings have left to play for at this stage but again, they won’t go there.
“We’ve been talking about this for the last week or two,… goalie Jimmy Howard said. “You’ve just gotta keep going out there and keep playing, whether you’re playing for your next contract, or . . . you have to go out there and just continue to impress people.…
Detroit forward Gus Nyquist admitted that there is a cauldron of emotions boiling over inside the Detroit dressing room, what with the last games at Joe Louis Arena coming up this weekend and the Wings missing postseason play for the first time since 1989-90.
“The season is coming to an end and it’s a different situation for the guys that have been here,… Nyquist said. “We’ve always been in a spot where we’re fighting to get in the playoffs and always managed to get in here for a long time, so that feels tough.
“It’s a little different, a lot of emotions for a lot of the older guys in this room playing the last few games here at the Joe. I think this weekend will bring out a lot of emotion for a lot of guys.…
It wasn’t a case that the Wings weren’t trying.
“Guys don’t quit,… Howard said. “I don’t think you can question the work ethic. It’s been mistakes over the course of the year that really cost us.
“It wasn’t a lack of hard work, or anything like that. I don’t question that one bit in this dressing room.…
It wasn’t that the Wings weren’t working hard, but were they working smartly.
“I think we just came a little bit down,… rookie forward Evgeni Svechnikov said. “We start a little bit struggling, especially with those guys.
“They are very good in transition and we were giving up a lot of transition. I think that’s why. We should have more shoot ins.…
It was left to Svechnikov, skating in his second NHL game, to sum up the night in the most simple of terms.
“You can’t win the game without the goals,… Svechnikov said.
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