The message on the ice was to get to the hard areas; the message off the ice was to stop feeling sorry for themselves.
The Detroit Red Wings enter their next game, Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena against the Chicago Blackhawks, having to look back nearly two weeks to the last time a game ended with a victory. In that span, the Wings lost Michael Rasmussen to a season-ending injury after he took a puck off his right kneecap, and lost Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek, Oskar Sundqvist and Jakub Vrana to trades. Weekend losses at the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers followed the trade deadline, and it’s time to move forward.
“There was no doubt the boys felt sorry for themselves,” coach Derek Lalonde said Tuesday. “Is it right or wrong? I think it was more of a reality. It will be my job to get them out of that. We are not going to go through the motions over these 20 games. We are going to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. This lineup is not much different than the beginning of the year, and we were extremely competitive.”
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The Wings lost Bertuzzi (injury) and Vrana (players assistance program) two games into the season, and were able to keep rolling. It is a little different now in that the race to make the playoffs is peaking, but to Lalonde’s point, the Wings had leads in both weekend games before losing in regulation.
“Those games were extremely winnable,” Lalonde said. “We led the Islanders going into the third, did not manage it. The Philadelphia game, it was there for the taking. We need to improve in those situations, that’s on me to get the group motivated to stay on track here.
“But there is something, too, now that our lineup is settled. We know what it is. Only have three more call-ups. This is where we are at. Hopefully we get some rhythm and find ways to win some tight games like we could have on the weekend.”
It would a black eye for the Wings (28-26-9) to lose at home to the Blackhawks (22-36-5), who are second from bottom in the NHL standings, but the Blackhawks did just topple the Ottawa Senators, 5-0, and the Senators are closer to a wild card spot than the Wings.
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“I’m happy we can prove we are still fighting,” former Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik said. “You always play for something. Right now we just want to get back on track, get that winning atmosphere around the room, just do it for our fans.”
The Wings spent much of practice working on special teams and getting to the area around the net, where play gets physical but odds are better for scoring goals. The Wings have been outscored, 27-9, during the 0-5-1 stretch that followed Feb. 23, when their seventh victory in eight games led to a brief ascension to a wild card spot.
“Ten days ago, we beat the Rangers, we’re above the playoff line with games in hand,” Lalonde said. “And it’s flipped in a hurry. I understand some of that, and it was still there on the weekend. We talked about it, tried to snap the guys out a little bit. I understand the reality of it but now it’s time. Draw that line.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.