The Detroit Red Wings established a couple of season highs Monday, but no one in red and white will be boasting about the accomplishments.
A 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden saw the Wings set season marks for the most goals and shots (45) allowed in a game.
“We just didn’t have it going from the beginning, none of us, myself included,… Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. “I’m more than capable of stealing a game for the team and carrying that workload, but tonight it just wasn’t meant to be.
“We knew they were going to be angry, the way they got handled the other night in Columbus. Everyone was talking around here in Boston that they were going to come at us hard and they won every battle in front of the net, theirs and ours. It’s no surprise what the score was.…
The Bruins pounded Howard with 19 first-periods shots and took a 3-1 lead to the dressing room.
“We didn’t really have our best effort in the first period and they took advantage of that,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “I think we worked ourselves into the game. The second half of this game we played OK, but the hole was a little too big tonight.
“I think we’ve been doing this a few games this year but we found a way to turn it around and win, but we didn’t do that tonight, so we’ve got to learn from this and be better from the start.…
The short-staffed Bruins, minus forwards Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic, simply outworked, outhustled and outplayed the Wings.
“We kept losing battles, the 50-50 ones,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “If you keep doing that you’re not going to touch the puck. Once we did have the puck we didn’t execute, so it was a lot of chasing tonight.…
The Wings also fell behind in their previous two games, but rallied to beat both Buffalo and Ottawa. This time, playing the chasing game finally caught up to them.
“If we don’t play the first period like we played the first period it’s a totally different game,… Howard said. “We’ve been walking that fine line for a little bit. Tonight it came back to bite us.…
Detroit coach Mike Babcock continues to harp on catch up hockey being losing hockey, but the message doesn’t seem to be resonating with his players.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, we haven’t been playing well enough,… Kronwall said. “We have to get back to being more hungry and basically winning more battles. I think a lot of it comes down to winning more battles and executing in our zone, playing just a little bit more simple game.…
Babcock pulled no punches in assessing the performance of his team.
“Tonight and Ottawa to me were the same,… Babcock said. “They won all the battles, all the races. They competed way harder than us. This road trip, Howie kept us in the game and gave us a chance in Ottawa. Howie kept us in the game when we were down one goal in the third tonight.
“As a group and as a coaching staff we pride ourselves in preparation and having our team ready. This was no good. The leadership group was no good. Individually, we were no good. Not good enough. No way.
“It’s real simple for me. You’re either going to work in the games or you’re going to work in practice, but we’re going to work. That is unacceptable.…
Babcock hoped the team’s inner pride would kick in and they’d be prepared and ready to go on time when they next play on New Year’s Eve against New Jersey at Joe Louis Arena.
“It’s like anything,… he said. “If you’re humbled and embarrassed by the way you play, you do something about it. I can tell you I am, because that’s ridiculous.
“We’ve got to change the way we play. But I think what we’ll do is we’ll choose to work hard.…
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer