BOSTON — The positive emotions that come with victory are enjoyable.
In their matinee game on Sunday, the Detroit Red Wings will be riding a brief two-game winning streak when they take on the Minnesota Wild, another team that traveled to Sweden but returned with two losses. With two strong games that resulted in four points, the Wings (10-6-3) have put the disappointment of leaving Stockholm with just one point behind them.
Coach Derek Lalonde commented, “There was some adversity there,” following Friday’s 5-2 triumph at TD Garden. “It was a very emotional trip to Europe. We played really well there, despite the fact that our league is results-based. I really give our guys some credit for not giving up on the game, for applying a little more focus to their strategy, and for putting together a few strong performances thus far.
After crushing the New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Wednesday, they went into Boston on Black Friday and gave the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins just their second regulation loss of the year.
Red Wings hand Boston Bruins their second regulation loss of the season, 5-2, in “A BIG FEAT.”
For both, the Wings are to blame.
Ville Husso declared, “We are a good team,” following his 25 saves at TD Garden. We can defeat any team in this league if we put in the effort every day and night. All we need to do is do it every day. We’ve played excellent defense the past two games, and we’ve won both handily. All we need to do is keep going forward and building.”
Husso had not played a game in two weeks because, less than 48 hours after his arrival in Stockholm, he had left to return to Detroit and welcome a baby girl.
He ought to have a child every six weeks, grinned Lalonde. “Give him credit for staying in that position for nearly a week and still getting his reps and being prepared; it’s not easy. He gave a really strong performance.”
Third-string goalie Alex Lyon had two excellent back-to-back performances on November 17, in the Devils’ 3-2 victory and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-2 defeat in the second game of the Global Series, while Husso relished a brief period of paternity leave. On November 16, James Reimer played goaltending for the Wings as they overcame a four-goal deficit to lose 5-4 in overtime against the Ottawa Senators.
Dylan Larkin remarked, “Those two games in Sweden were very intense, very emotional.” “We played below our standards and lost, but we still managed to salvage a point. It’s difficult to maintain that kind of intensity when traveling and everything. I believe Hus carried on what Alex Lyon started last game, when he played with such intensity that our group felt really confident. It is what we require. We are really fortunate to have three goalies who can compete at a high level in this league, in my opinion.”
The Wings’ victory in Boston was deemed “a big feat” by Larkin. Less than a minute after the Bruins had made it 3-2, he scored on a power play. Despite squandering 61 seconds with a two-man advantage while leading 4-2, the Wings have rekindled their power play, which has produced three of the team’s nine goals during their current two-game winning streak.
Earlier in the week, Lalonde said that the Wings had become “hardened” by losing games in which they had performed well. One such instance was the game against the Leafs: the Wings led 2-0 entering the third period and were thinking about what it was like to lose when they took a 3-1 lead on Friday.
“Anytime you give up a two-goal lead in the third period like that, it’s kind of a little bit of a gut check,” said Andrew Copp. “I believe that was something we knew we had to turn around on as we entered the third period.We can’t coast through the third period, especially when playing a team like Toronto or Boston, so maybe that woke us up a little.
“Overall, the two games we played over there were quite good, but in the end, we didn’t receive the results. Gaining a few victories after that was crucial, and we need to figure out a way to carry it over into the following week.”
