The Detroit Red Wings are 0-3 so far on their four game road swing.
For the third straight game, the Red Wings gave up five goals to their oppositions and looked completely hapless defensively.
“I thought honestly we obviously made some mistakes and pucks went in, but we were better in a lot of areas and better defensively at times for sure, certainly than we were the last couple of games, especially in their D zone,” Blashill said afterwards. “We made some mistakes and they ended up in our net, and it’s unfortunate, not good enough.”
“We need to take strides. We’re going to have a good practice, get our structure back and our habits back – specifically in D zone coverage.”
The Red Wings came into the game allowing 3.33 goals per game, good (or bad for, depending on how you look at it) for 26th place in the National Hockey League, a stat that Blashill referenced.
“I think honestly it comes back to we have to become a better defensive team,” he said. “I think statistically, we’re one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and we have to be a better defensive team. We came into the game .500, and defensively we’re not even close.”
The Red Wings have played exciting hockey in several games this season, giving fans hope that there could be a return to routinely competitive hockey in the near future. However, if the defensive lapses aren’t remedied, fans could be waiting longer. As far as Blashill is concerned,
“To me, there’s a bright light there at the end of the tunnel that says if we can be better defensively, we can be a good hockey team,” he said.
One of the bright spots on the team this season has been the play of rookie defenseman Moritz Seider, who is second overall in NHL rookie scoring and plays in all situations for Detroit. He left tonight’s game in obvious pain after blocking a shot in the 3rd period and needed help from team training staff to make his way down the tunnel towards the dressing room.
“Too early, I’m not certain,” Blashill said when asked about his status. “I didn’t have a chance to talk to our trainer yet.”
– – Quotes via Detroit Red Wings Link – –
