Kane finishes with a goal and an assist, marking his second consecutive multi-point game
WINNIPEG \u2013<\/strong> The Detroit Red Wings have proved themselves more than capable of overcoming adversity this season. And after Wednesday\u2019s 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets extended the Red Wings\u2019 losing streak to four straight games, captain Dylan Larkin said there’s only one way for Detroit to get out of this rut.
\u201cI think we\u2019ve really tried it all the past couple of weeks,\u201d Larkin said. \u201cDifferent line combinations, different coaching coming in being hard, trying to pump us up or whatever it is. But it\u2019s got to come within the room. Every guy has to be better. That sounds clich\u00e9 but tonight, it was very apparent that every guy needs to be better.\u201d
Goalie James Reimer made a season-high 36 saves for Detroit (15-13-4; 34 points), which was outshot by Winnipeg (19-9-3; 41 points), 41-28.
When reflecting on the game, head coach Derek Lalonde said defensive lapses cost the Red Wings.
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating in that there\u2019s some good moments,\u201d Lalonde said. \u201cBut it\u2019s these lapses where we just break down and everything is ending up with some easy offense against us.\u201d
Meijer Postgame Comments | WPG vs. DET | 12\/20\/23
Detroit went into the first intermission in a 1-0 hole\u00a0after the Jets opened the scoring at 15:38 of the opening frame.
\u201cI liked our start,\u201d Lalonde said. \u201cFelt a little unfortunate to be down 1-0.\u201d
Olli Maatta tied the game for the Red Wings at 1:44 of the second period when he skated in on the rush and took a cross-ice pass from Patrick Kane before firing a shot over the shoulder of Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit to make it 1-1. Andrew Copp also assisted Maatta\u2019s first goal of the season.
DET@WPG: Maatta scores goal against Laurent Brossoit
\u201cLiked the start of our second,\u201d Lalonde said. \u201cWe get it back to 1-1, then they had a little push and then we had a really poor end of the second. And that\u2019s that lapse.\u201d
Winnipeg took control with three straight goals in an 8:29 span before the end of the second, taking a 4-1 lead.
With 11:19 left in the third period, Kane saw a rebound come to him in front and promptly buried it to cut the Red Wings\u2019 deficit in half, 4-2. Larkin and Moritz Seider picked up the assists.
“He’s been producing some offense,” Lalonde said about Kane, who has six points in his first eight games with the Wings.\u00a0“You like to see him finish. Obviously the two points tonight. I think that’s a good sign going forward.”
After finding the back of the net at 15:12, Winnipeg held on the rest of the way for the 5-2 final.
\u201cWe had a pretty good third period,\u201d Lalonde said. \u201cProbably should have gotten it to 4-3, then we had that lapse again.”
Detroit finished 0-for-2 on the man advantage but played its first penalty-free game since Jan. 19 at Vegas.
DET@WPG: Kane scores goal against Laurent Brossoit
\u201cWe have to get desperate,\u201d Larkin said. \u201cWe have to get something to hang our hat on.\u201d
NEXT UP:<\/strong> Playing the first half of a back-to-back set before the NHL\u2019s annual holiday break, the Red Wings will host the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night.
Lalonde on the importance of staying mentally strong<\/strong>
\u201cThat\u2019s the challenge, not to get frustrated. I thought for the most part, the group did that. We\u2019ll try some different things going into Friday. Obviously David Perron coming back, I think, will help our group. But it\u2019s just (playing) complete hockey.\u201d
Larkin on his evaluation of Wednesday\u2019s loss<\/strong>
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of spiraling right now. It\u2019s a lot of hockey, but we can\u2019t make excuses. We had to come in here and find a way, and we didn\u2019t. We found the opposite. We lost our d-zone coverage, we\u2019ve been struggling with that of late and they exposed us tonight. We hung Reims out to dry with backdoors and extended o-zone shifts for Winnipeg.\u201d
Larkin on how the Red Wings can snap this skid<\/strong>
\u201cIt\u2019s just about simplifying one game at a time. We\u2019re just in a rut. It\u2019s frustrating. It\u2019s not clicking right now. Offense isn\u2019t clicking and you can\u2019t win hockey games playing defense like that. When we get five guys back, we got to simplify and grind it out. We didn\u2019t do that tonight.\u201d
Seider on how he feels Detroit is playing of late<\/strong>
\u201cI feel like we really try, and it just feels like we\u2019re a step too late or just not really connected on the things we\u2019re trying to get done, say like the forecheck or breakouts. It feels like it\u2019s always one split second is kind of off and we\u2019re chasing the game.\u201d<\/p>\n