Wings lose in scrumfest, but Howard, depleted blue line play admirably
VANCOUVER 4, RED WINGS 1
Wings lose in scrumfest, but Howard, depleted blue line play admirably
By HELENE ST. JAMES • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • February 24, 2008
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- As hard as the Red Wings competed Saturday against the Canucks, the absence of four regulars on defense was too much to overcome.
The Wings fell, 4-1 at GM Place, dropping their second game in two nights, despite a solid effort by Jimmy Howard in goal and commendable play by a blue-line corps that’s down to just two veterans.
The dearth of experience hurt especially in the third period as Livonia’s Ryan Kesler scored twice, the first time after taking the puck off Brett Lebda.
“I thought everything was fine for us until we turned the puck over to make it 3-1,” Mike Babcock said. “Just by playing last night and being a little bit depleted anyway, we didn’t have the energy to push, so at that point, that was the nail in the coffin.”
For a few minutes in the first period it looked like defenseman Derek Meech, who’s done a terrific job over the past two games, would join the ranks of the injured when he was rammed headfirst into the boards as Jeff Cowan led with his elbow (Cowan drew a charging penalty). Meech looked woozy and went down Detroit’s tunnel, but was able to return and help set up Pavel Datsyuk’s power play goal.
Meech saw Cowan coming, which helped.
“I tried to brace myself as much as I could,” Meech said. “I tried to make a play with the puck, but he hit me high. But that’s the kind of player he is, he works hard and that’s his job, to bang around. I was fine.”
Roberto Luongo made 28 saves to Howard’s 31.
The Wings, now on a 1-7-1 skid, were without defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom (knee), Brian Rafalski (groin), Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) and Chris Chelios (knee), which showed especially during power plays when substitute point men couldn’t generate the same chances as Lidstrom, Rafalski and Kronwall.
“We’re not quite as smooth on the back end as we normally are, and you don’t get the puck going as good, and therefore you’re not playing with as much speed,” Babcock said. “I thought it really affected the power play - normally we have three of the best ones in the world on the back end, and right now they’re just not available to us.”
Instead, the Wings’ points were manned by Lebda and Mikael Samuelsson, as well as Meech and Jonathan Eriksson, the latter two of whom are new to the job.
“Lidstrom is Lidstrom and Rafalski and Kronwall, they’re good players, for sure,” Samuelsson said. “But new guys coming in, they’re not doing a bad job. I just think we’re missing some great players, that’s all I can say.”
The Canucks grabbed a 1-0 lead when Alexander Edler beat Howard from 60 feet at 14:26 of the first period, but Datsyuk tipped Meech’s shot just over two minutes later.
As turning points go, the Wings squandered a huge one in the second period when they managed just one good scoring chance during a 59-second two-man advantage.
“You’re hopeful you can get one there and it gets you up,” Babcock said. “And then you can play a different type of game. When you’re behind you’re pushing and trying to come back. And when you’re working harder trying to come back, you’re not getting the same kind of pass you normally get.”
Instead Detroit fell into a 2-1 hole when Sami Salo scored on a wrist shot at 10:39 of the second period.
The game was marked by several scrums in corners and along the boards, hostility that first flared during warm-ups when Aaron Downey got mixed up with Alex Burrows and teammates from both sides swarmed in to assist.
“It was just some yapping back-and-forth, an exchange of words,” Downey said. “They’re juggling for a playoff spot, so … a few words were exchanged, and then we realized we just had to get back to warm-ups. Burrows was yapping a little bit, but that’s what he does best.”
Howard made several key saves until the Wings were dismantled by Kesler’s outburst.
“We were right in there, we were playing a great game,” Howard said. “It was just unfortunate chain of event and bounces that went their way. A two-goal lead for them at home is a pretty good cushion for them, especially with Luongo back there.”
Kesler scored at 3:31 and the 17-minute mark, but it was the first one that really hurt. Lebda, though, has been drafted into far greater duties than he normally carries, and his 28:17 minutes of playing time Saturday was more than any other Detroit skater, and about 12 above his average. Babcock said Lebda’s intentions were in the right place, just like those of his teammates.
“Tonight I thought he tried to do too much,” Babcock said. “But they want to win; they’re in the winning business. We’re not wining right now, and they’re taking responsibility. That’s what I want as a coach. That’s way better than not wanting to win.”