The Florida Panthers tend to bring out the worst in the Detroit Red Wings and that was again the case on Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena.
The Panthers opened a 4-1 lead and held off a late Wings rally for a 4-3 victory, ending Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
“We weren’t good enough since the start,… Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar said. “We have to play better. We looked like we didn’t have the legs, and for some reason we didn’t play good.
“We can’t just drop the game like this. We won four in a row but it doesn’t mean we can take a night off.…
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg was even harsher in his criticism of the team’s performance, feeling the Wings allowed the Panthers to out-work them.
“We were just slower,… Zetterberg said. “I think they were more hungry in the 50/50 battles. They got the puck back after they were shooting the puck and they got the puck back after we shot the puck.
“We didn’t have a good start; we dragged ourselves into the game. I felt like they poured it on us there for a bit. They were much faster, much stronger from the beginning but we got that power-play goal and got the (1-0) lead.
“Then in the second, I think we played a little bit better but unfortunately we gave up too easy of goals. A few times we had the puck under control and then they have it and it’s in our net. Against teams like this, you’ve got to work so hard to get chances so you’ve got to be better at taking care of the puck.…
Forward Johan Franzen felt perhaps the Wings were too lackadaisical in their approach to facing the Panthers.
“Maybe we thought we were going to win with putting one skate out there, but that’s not going to happen in this league,… Franzen said. “Every game is so important. We’re fighting for every point. It’s not good enough.…
Filling The Net For the third straight game and the fifth time in six games, the Wings surrendered three or more goals and that’s a significant concern for a team that prides itself on playing stellar defense.
“If we let in three or four goals a night it’s not easy to win games,… Zetterberg said. “You’ve got to score a lot of them yourself. Even today, some of the goals shouldn’t happen, but it does and it’s something we’ve got to change.…
Detroit coach Mike Babcock felt his team didn’t have their heads into the game and that’s why they made so many errors.
“We never executed,… Babcock said. “When you don’t execute you’re ultra-slow. We’re a way quicker team than we used to be, we looked slow tonight.
“We didn’t execute, we turned the puck over. We had our count around 20 turnovers. You have no chance. Mentally we weren’t engaged.…
Hot Hand One bright spot for the Wings was the continued solid performance of right-winger Tomas Jurco, who collected an assist to extend his point streak to five games. Jurco has eight points in his last eight games and this development was no surprise to Florida coach Gerard Gallant.
Gallant coached Jurco on the 2010-11 Memorial Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs.
“Tomas Jurco is a real good hockey player,… Gallant said. “I really liked him in the three years that I had him in Saint John and to watch him develop into the player that he is today is really satisfying, because he came over here as a young kid from Europe and he had no idea of the work ethic that it takes to be a professional player.
“His skill level was unbelievable so it’s good to see Tomas play that way he’s playing because he’s competing every day, every shift and he’s a true professional NHL hockey player and he’s doing real well for the Red Wings.…
Howe Update Medical tests have confirmed that Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe did not suffer a stroke Monday and is more likely a combination of fatigue and dehydration that led to the hospitalization of the 86-year-old man known simply as Mr. Hockey.
“He is responding and resting comfortably with family while in hospital currently,… Howe’s son Dr. Murray Howe said in a text message. The Howe family believes that their father could be returning to his daughter Cathy’s home in Lubbock, Tex. within days.
Contrary to published reports, Murray Howe confirmed that his father is not in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
It is known that Howe suffered a minor stroke on Saturday.
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