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Wings Post-Game: We Like It In The Basement

Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

By Nick Seguin

Mar 12, 2017, 21:41 EDT

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Coming off a big victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, the Wings hosted the New York Rangers Sunday evening. Originally, the game was slated to be played at 1 PM, but due to their poor performance this season, NBC opted to go with the Chicago vs Minnesota game for the Sunday afternoon timeslot. Despite this, there were no shortage of storylines going into Sunday evening’s match. Brendan Smith made his first return to Joe Louis Arena to play his former team since he was shipped out on the March 1st trade deadline and Anthony Mantha was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row as his coach looked for him to up his compete level.

Well, it seems the coach’s tactics don’t seem to be working as the Red Wings would drop this one by a score of 4-1.

The Rundown

The Wings did a lot of chasing in the first period, but they had a few good moments. Zetterberg had a great puck possession shift, Tatar forced a turnover deep in the New York zone and created a scoring chance for Nick Jensen, and Larkin played the puck strong to create a good chance for Riley Sheahan (no, he didn’t score). Between these moments, though, the Rangers controlled the flow of the game. Towards the end of the period, Athanasiou created hope as he used his speed to split the Rangers defense. He was tripped up in the process, giving the Wings a much needed powerplay. Unfortunately, it completely collapsed and they gave up a 3-on-1 which the Rangers ultimately scored on.

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McDonagh gets out of an awkward spot to start the transition. Then, his movement forces Green to respect the pass, creating space for Hayes.

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11:47 PM · Mar 12, 2017

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The Wings got off to a much better start in the second period, catching the Rangers in shots and finally scoring on the powerplay.

It didn’t last for very long, though. The Rangers took the lead when chaos was created around Petr Mrazek’s net. Less than a minute later, the Rangers would add another one as they burned the Ouellet-Russo pairing on a one-timer deep in the zone. The second period ended with the Wings down 3-1.

In the third period, the Wings would get back-to-back powerplays, but were unable to convert on either of them. They stepped up their game in the second half of the period – Athanasiou had a very pretty between-the-legs shot – but it was too little too late. The Rangers added a fourth goal on the powerplay with less than five minutes to go. The game would end 4-1. The Wings were outshot 31-24.

The Stats

Once again, the Red Wings fell victim to a slow first period. Their second was much better, but the pair of goals towards the end was too much to overcome. Their last-minute pushes at the end of the games are not good enough anymore. A more complete game is required if they want to log the Ws.

Motor City MVP

Tonight’s Motor City MVP is Robbie Russo. In his fourth NHL game, Russo had just over ten minutes of ice time, posted a 61.54 CF%, and saved a goal from happening when he cleared the puck from the crease behind Petr Mrazek. His confidence is still growing, but he had a decent game.

Up Next

The Wings are off until Wednesday when they travel to Colorado to face the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. The Wings aren’t far behind them, so they need to steal two points from their old rivals. Puck drop is 9:30 PM EST and you can catch the game on FS-D and ALT if you’re in the Colorado area. As always, Brock Seguin will the pre-game for you right here at WingsNation.com Wednesday morning.