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Like someone stuck in quicksand, the more the Detroit Red Wings try to climb out of the mire, the more they seem to slip back under.
One day after a solid 3-2 shootout win at Minnesota over the Wild, the Wings came home and fell 2-1 to the Washington Capitals Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.
Two old bugaboos bit the Wings again – they started slowly and once they shifted into high gear, they couldn’t find a way to put the puck past Washington goalie Braden Holtby.
“I still think we had a good game today minus the first five or 10 minutes,… said Detroit forward Darren Helm, who scored the Wings’ only goal. “I thought we played really hard and made a lot of good plays.
“I thought we both delivered as far as work ethic. The first 10 minutes killed us. The last 50 I thought we were great.
“We just couldn’t find that last goal to tie it up.…
Finding a way to score has proven to be Detroit’s nemesis ever since the team began its slide in the standings at the beginning of March. In 10 of 18 games since, the Wings have scored two or fewer goals. Sunday was fifth time in that stretch where they were limited to one goal.
Detroit is 5-10-2 in its last 17 games.
Among those struggling to find the back of the net is Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg, who has one goal in his last 27 games. Helm’s goal was his first in 16 games. Joakim Andersson has one goal in 33 games. Drew Miller has tallied twice in 30 games. Tomas Tatar has three goals in 18 games. Pavel Datsyuk has scored twice in 12 games. Riley Sheahan has lit the red lamp four times in 23 games. Teemu Pulkkinen has gone 11 games without scoring.
“We’re trying to do the same things,… Zetterberg said. “Obviously there are little mental mistakes here and there that creates more time in our own end.
“Every time we do the right stuff, get the puck deep, work in their zone, we create a lot of chances. But we’re turning a little too many pucks over, not executing like we did before, and then you spend more time in your own end and wears down on your D.…
It didn’t help that forward Justin Abdelkader, who’d scored 10 times in the last 17 games, missed Sunday’s game due to a hand injury suffered Saturday when he was hit with a shot by Wild defenseman Marco Scandella.
Abdelkader’s immediate status remains unknown.
Different Perspective The Wings viewed killing off a two-man disadvantage in Saturday’s win as being a huge momentum swing in their favour.
Sunday, when they failed to score during a two-man advantage for 1:33 in the second period, they didn’t see it as a momentum-changing moment.
“I don’t think it was the turning point,… Helm said. “I think it would have been a lot nicer to score and give us a little bit of a boost.
“I think most times in a game when you can’t score five on three it usually goes the other way or if you score, it usually turns in your favor.
“Their team’s obviously a pretty good killing team. We couldn’t find a way to get one.…
Puzzling Penalty Retaliating for a hard hit he absorbed moments earlier from Washington’s Tom Wilson, Detroit defenseman Marek Zidlicky caught Wilson with what looked to be a picture-perfect old-school hip check.
Zidlicky was penalized for clipping, adding to the frustration in the Detroit dressing room, where they admit to being puzzled over what is a penalty and what is not a penalty in today’s NHL.
“It doesn’t matter if I like it or not,… Babcock said. “I just like them to call what’s happened. That’s it. Nothing more.
“I don’t think everybody should be looking around to see who got the penalty. When a penalty’s been called, I think the guy knowing should feel shame and go to the box. I don’t think both teams should look around and say, ‘Hey, who’s going to the box?’
“We don’t have any idea. To me, something’s wrong when that’s going on.…
Goalie Situation Detroit’s on-going contest for the No. 1 netminding position between Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek remains an unsolved mystery.
After Howard played a stellar game in beating Minnesota, Mrazek was solid in Sunday’s setback.
“I thought Pete played good,… Babcock said. “Could he have had the (Mike) Green one (that made it 2-0)? I don’t know.
“The kid gave up two.
As to who goes next game, Babcock wasn’t saying.
“That’s the beauty of the situation,… Babcock said. “I don’t have to tell you because I don’t know.…
Who’s Counting? For the third straight game, the Wings were called for having too many men on the ice.
The other two were the result of confusion on the bench, but Zetterberg took the blame this time, saying he came on the ice too quickly on a change.
“This one wasn’t communication,… Zetterberg said. “I think I jumped a little too early and the puck came to Andy, and he touched it so this wasn’t like the other two.…
Babcock, though, wasn’t about to allow his captain to fall on his sword.
“The bottom line is we didn’t do it right,… Babcock said. “I’m the guy in charge of the bench so it’s my fault.
“Let’s go with that to make it simple.…
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