DETROIT—Their month of March was an unmitigated disaster, control over their destiny has slipped through their hands, their remaining schedule is the league's most difficult, yet the Detroit Red Wings' playoff hopes remain alive, bolstered by a decisive 5–3 Friday night win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes that suggested March's defensive woes are over and demonstrated their competence against the NHL's elite.
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Detroit Stays Tight on D
Detroit had to sweat this game out late, before Alex DeBrincat clinched the result with an empty net goal as time expired after building leads of 2–0 and 4–1. Even with Carolina's late surge, Friday's performance represented a third consecutive strong defensive effort, a welcome sign after an altogether disastrous month of March in the D zone.
The Red Wings went 4–10–0 in March, while conceding 3.29 goals against per game. Over their last three games, they've pulled it down to an average of an even two goals a game, earning five of a possible six points in the process.
In his post-game remarks, coach Todd McLellan suggested that Tuesday night's OT loss in St. Louis was actually a more complete performance. "We're starting to get points again, so maybe we're coming out of that funk if you want to call it that, but the runway that we have is getting tighter and tighter," McLellan said.
He then offered the caveat that Detroit still has work to do when it comes to making those winning behaviors full-time habits: "It has to happen over and over and over again. You can still see moments in the game tonight where we were apprehensive or retreating when we could be aggressive. We've got to get that through the players—keep pushing rather than retreating."
Despite those momentary lapses (which the Hurricanes deserve credit for helping to force with their intensity all over the ice), Friday was another step in the right defensive direction for the Red Wings, and that is probably the single biggest reason they appear to have fought their way out of the funk McLellan named.
"I think we wanted to keep the pressure on their defense tonight," noted Patrick Kane after the game. "We know how active they can get into the play. They get some zone time, they get some pressure on us, but for the most part, I think we held down the fort and kept the shots from the outside." Kane also credited teammates like Simon Edvinsson and Michael Rasmussen for their willingness to get in front of shots all night.
To both those points, Detroit limited the Canes to seven five-on-five high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. That's not nothing, but it's a commendable number against a team that thrives on offensive volume. Meanwhile, the Red Wings also blocked 23 shots (with Edvinsson and Jeff Petry leading the way ...
