DETROIT – On a night when the Detroit Red Wings didn’t need a lot of offense, they didn’t get any.
An opponent with a stifling defense, a hot rookie goaltender, an ineffective power play and the absence of their leading scorer in the third period resulted in a 1-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Red Wings (13-9-6) are a deeper team with more scoring options than last year, resulting in a better offense. Pyotr Kochetkov’s 27-save performance marked the first time this season they have been shut out. If Dylan Larkin is idled for any length of time, goals could be more difficult to come by.
Larkin was hit in the right hand by a shot late in the second period and did not return. Coach Derek Lalonde didn’t know the extent of the injury following the game but said Larkin won’t play Wednesday at Minnesota (7:30, TNT).
Even with Larkin, their leading scorer (27 points in 28 games), the Red Wings had difficulty generating attack.
“When they start training camp, that’s the film they’re going to show, just being on top of guys,” Red Wings center Andrew Copp said. “They come down the walls hard, they pinch, they play man-on-man, they’re just over top of it all night and that’s what they’ve been doing for the last five years. Didn’t play bad tonight, but it’s a frustrating game to play when you kind of let them play into it.
“Forecheck those guys, make them go back for pucks and take hits every time. We just didn’t do it enough tonight.”
Said David Perron: “They put a lot of pucks at the net. Whether it hits the net or not, they just kind of keep rimming it around. It’s almost a little bit overwhelming at times.”
The Red Wings, after a sluggish first period, carried the play in the second, with a 13-6 edge in shots. None of them came, however, during five minutes of power play time.
“It’s not just goals for sure on the power play, it’s definitely bringing momentum and I don’t think we did a good enough job of that,” Perron said. “We had a couple good looks, like we had a seam play to (Dominik Kubalik), he’s been scoring a lot of those goals like that. Sometimes that’s how the night goes.”
The Hurricanes (16-6-6), meanwhile, scored against Ville Husso (26 saves) during their first of two power plays. Brady Skjei fired in a one-timer at 17:20 of the first period.
“They just defended inside,” Lalonde said. “We might have out-chanced them. They won the special teams game. It’s disappointing in the first, didn’t really give ourselves much of a chance. Much better second, a little push, it just didn’t go in for us. They scored on the power play, we didn’t. Difference in the game.”
More: How Red Wings will compensate for Dylan Larkin’s absence
"difficult" - Google News
December 14, 2022 at 06:01PM
https://ift.tt/HWOZz7e
Scoring could become more difficult for Red Wings - MLive.com
"difficult" - Google News
https://ift.tt/wiFoQh0
https://ift.tt/dwghEYR
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Scoring could become more difficult for Red Wings - MLive.com"
Post a Comment