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Heading Away From Embarrassment

March 1, 2019, 7:43 PM ET [4 Comments]
Bob Duff
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Three days removed from their worst effort of the NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings are getting out of town.

Spanked 7-1 Tuesday by the Montreal Canadiens, the Wings will look to scrape off the stink Saturday, starting a two-game road trip in Arizona against the Coyotes.

“I think you obviously want to go out there and you want to play well for your fans,” goalie Jimmy Howard told Detroitredwings.com. “It hasn’t happened for us really all that much in the last several years.

“It’ll be nice for us to go out to Arizona and Colorado with the guys and focus on hockey.”

If anything, what Tuesday said about this hockey team isn’t nearly as good as some in the local media like to spin it. The near future isn’t all sunshine and roses, as some would try to lead you to believe.

The reality is that this team has to give every ounce it has to give simply in order to be mediocre. Come off it even a bit, and they lose.

Come off it a lot, like they did on Tuesday, and they lose all credibility.

“Certainly what happened on Tuesday is a joke,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “That can’t happen.

“I didn’t think we competed hard enough. I like to use the word urgency over desperation but whatever word you want to use, I didn’t think it was high enough.

“We missed assignments on people getting back to our net, I just think some of the simple principles of good hockey — stopping on people, stopping on pucks, winning puck battles, winning puck races and not letting people beat you back to the net.”

Lacking the ability to complete, the required talent level, is one aspect of the picture. But lacking the desire to compete and the willingness to work is entirely unacceptable.

“That’s something that shouldn’t be taken for granted,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We shouldn’t have to talk about it, but apparently we do.”

To be fair, effort has not been an issue for this team very often this season. But performances such as Tuesday served to exemplify why it can’t ever be for this club. They simply aren’t good enough to win on talent alone.

Others might suggest that as yet another season slips away from the Wings, there is little left to motivate them, but they will hear none of such talk.

“You’re always as a player if you’re not in the playoffs or end up not making the playoffs, you’re showcasing yourself, you’re making sure of that,” forward Justin Abdelkader said. “It’s a job that you’ve got to go out and prove yourself every day.

“You’re fighting for spots and playing time and your future. Regardless of the situation that’s presented, you’ve got to make sure that you go out and do your best.”

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