WINGS POST-GAME: Tough Times in Tampa
By Cameron Kuom
5 years agoThe Red Wings began made their way down to Florida to take on Atlantic Division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Detroit entered this game dead last in the NHL standings, and after coming off two blowout defeats, Tampa Bay is the last team they would want to face. The Lightning have won the 15 of the last 16 match-ups between the two clubs. Tampa Bay won 3-1, leaving the Wings winless after seven games.
Worth Mentioning
- After much confusion over lineup decisions, Jeff Blashill’s most controversial move was scratching Filip Hronek in favor of Luke Witkowski. The youngster got an opportunity to watch from the press box, while Witkowski got a chance to play against his former team.
- On the other hand, Michael Rasmussen returned to the lineup after being scratched against the Montreal Canadians on Monday night.
- The Lightning got on the board first. Brayden Point went to the net and got rewarded.
- Luke Glendening responded for the Wings. The goal was as dirty as it gets but I love how the Wings defensemen were involved. Dennis Cholowski started it off with a stretch pass up ice. Trevor Daley joined the rush and got it in a prime scoring area.
- Steven Stamkos netted his first goal of the season in what would be the eventual game-winning goal. Alex Killorn added an empty netter to make it 3-1.
- Special teams were a mixed bag in this one. The man-advantage couldn’t get anything going as they failed to convert once despite having five powerplays. On the penalty-kill, Detroit managed to hold off the Bolts, killing all four of the penalties off tonight.
- Coming up empty-handed yet again is unfortunate, but they played significantly better than in the previous two contests. In a game I was expecting a blowout loss, the Wings managed to make it a game and keep it tight though 60 minutes.
Final Thoughts
The constant losing can get frustrating. Rebuild or not, no one can sit back and say this is easy. Nights like this you have to take what you can.
What was that exactly?
The effort was much better. The team came out against an opponent that has dominated them for the last five years and competed hard. Mistakes were made, but the mindset was different. Though all the scrutiny that Blashill has taken this season, his team is still going out there and working.
The Wings next game will be against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. If the Panthers lose to the Washington Capitals on Friday, this will be a match-up between the leagues last two teams yet to win a game.
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