Points are at a premium for the Detroit Red Wings, who came into Saturday evening’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres having just broken a three-game losing streak.
While they were able to pick up a point in the standings, they’ll lament how they lost the second point that should have been theirs.
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The Sabres mounted a four-goal comeback, seizing their first road victory of the season and stunning the sold-out crowd at Little Caesars Arena by beating the Red Wings by a 5-4 final score in overtime.
Mattias Samuelsson scored the overtime-deciding goal, capping the comeback effort for the Sabres, who remain the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo has now won both games against Detroit this season, something that won’t sit well.
Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan has spoken often about the need for Detroit’s players to strengthen their mental fortitude, and spoke openly about the kind of mental mistakes he felt played a role in their downfall on Satuday vening.
“I guess that would come into play, but just understanding what’s happening and what’s important in certain moments,” McLellan said about the need to improve the Red Wings’ mental strenth. “We have D that are joining a rush, we’re up by two with seven minutes left, and it’s a risky rush. That just makes no sense to me. We have penalty killers that were throwing pucks back toward our end hoping to get a shot on goal in their end and turning it over for a breakaway.”
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McLellan also singled out defenseman Simon Edvinsson for his lack of action on Tage Thompson’s goal, which cut Detroit’s lead to 4-3 in the third period. Edvinsson allowed the 5’8″ Alex DeBrincat to be the one attempting to stop the 6’6″ Thompson on his drive to the net.
“Simon was on the ice tonight, and he let Cat take their 50 goal scorer who’s 6’7″ instead of him coming to play him. I don’t know what happened sometimes, but those are all game management situations, it was one versus two,” McLellan said. “Was that mental, between the ears? Probably. But until we value it and we figure it out, I’ll probably be talking about this again.
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The Red Wings built up a 4-1 lead midway through the second period, only to see it evaporate. Not long after Thompson scored to cut the lead to a single goal, the Sabres knotted the score thanks to a shorthanded breakaway goal from Ryan McLeod.
These are the kinds of situations the Red Wings need to figure out if they’re going to break out of their lengthy postseason drought.
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