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WINGS POSTGAME: KO’d by the Islanders

Dec 8, 2018, 21:50 EST

After a big win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings, with Tyler Bertuzzi done serving his two-game suspension, hosted the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. However, the Islanders spoiled Bertuzzi’s return, winning 3-2 in a chippy game that saw multiple fights.

Worth Mentioning

The Red Wings got on the scoreboard early, as Justin Abdelkader followed Dylan Larkin‘s shot and beat Thomas Greiss.

The Red Wings appeared to take a 2-0 lead about 12 seconds later, but the Islanders challenged for offside and won.
The Red Wings eventually took a 2-0 lead, with about six minutes left in the first, as Niklas Kronwall fired a rocket past Greiss.

Toward the end of the first, Kronwall laid a big hit on Anders Lee. Kronwall made contact with Lee’s head, but Lee also had his head down. No penalty was called on the play, but Kronwall could face a suspension. It didn’t appear Kronwall was aiming for the head, but the contact is there.

In the second period, the Islanders scored two goals in 2:26 to tie it at 2-2, and as NHL correspondent Dave Hogg pointed out, the Red Wings have blown at least a two-goal lead four times in the past three games.

Dave Hogg 📎

@davehogg

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Red Wings have now blown a two-goal (or more) lead four times in three games. 2-0 and 5-3 vs Tampa, 4-1 vs. Toronto, 2-0 vs. NYI.

1:28 AM · Dec 9, 2018

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Matt Martin‘s goal early in the third period ended up being the game-winning goal.

Final Thoughts

It’s nice to see the Red Wings scoring on a somewhat consistent basis, but the blown leads have been the reason for Detroit’s past two losses. Part of it is no doubt a lack of experience in closing out games, but part of it also is playing not to lose instead of playing to win.