It was former NHLer sniper Reggie Leach who originally coined the phrase, ‘it’s not how you get them, it’s how many you get’ and a variable of that saying might apply to Sunday’s 5-4 overtime win by the Detroit Red Wings over the Washington Capitals.
Ultimately, what mattered most in this Detroit victory - how the Wings got there, or how they ended up?
The Wings, who blew 3-0 and 5-2 leads in losing 7-6 in OT to the New York Islanders on Friday, carried a 4-1 lead in third period Sunday, only to squander it and be forced to work extra time once more, albeit this time with a positive outcome.
“It was tough,” Tomas Tatar, who scored the game winner, admitted to Detroitredwings.com. “I was worried it might be same story as against Islanders. You don’t want that to happen. It felt really bad after the game.
“If you have two in a row like that, it would be just miserable. I’m glad we had the two points.”
That being said, Tatar wasn’t about to ignore the elephant in the room, Detroit’s inability to protect three-goal leads.
“I think we played really good the first two periods,” Tatar said. “We put the pucks deep, we had a great forecheck and we created a lot of chances from the forecheck.”
A different Detroit team showed up for the next 20 minutes of play. “We backed up a little bit and they started pressuring us,” Tatar said. |I almost lost my mind again on the bench. We had a three-goal lead and it just can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen and we’re working on it.”
Tommy Two Goals
Tatar netted a pair, ending his eight-game goalless drought.
“Two big goal scorer’s goals there.” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “He’s a real big goal scorer. He gets a little streaky at times, and hopefully he can get streaky hot here.
“He has been snake bitten, but I also think the goals followed what I think has been real good play here the last little bit.”
Tatar has four goals this season in two games against the Capitals. “Somebody told me I had two at home before (in a 4-3 OT loss on Oct. 20,” Tatar said. “I guess good luck is with me. I don’t know.”
Howard’s End
Jimmy Howard made 23 saves to post his first victory since Jan. 5, ending a personal five-game losing skid.
“He made a couple of big saves in overtime,” Blashill said. “We find a way to win the game, and lots of times you need saves for that to happen.
“I thought he did a good job of making sure we won the game.”
Daley Sacrifice
Defenseman Trevor Daley was also earning kudos after the game for sacrificing his body in OT to block a drive off the stick of Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin.
“Iron man,” Tatar said. “To block these kind of shots you need to be brave. He blocked a few of them. The last one probably hurt the most.”
Blashill was happy to report that Daley was feeling no ill effects from the blast.
“He’s got that in him for sure,” Blashill said of Daley’s courage. “It was an unreal block.
“I think he’s going to be alright, so that’s good to see.”
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