Red Wings’ Strong Effort Not Quite Enough In Overtime Loss

The Detroit Red Wings played the hottest team in the NHL to a near-standstill Tuesday night.

Unfortunately for Detroit fans, they weren’t able to finish the job.

A goal in the final minute tied it for St. Louis, and the Blues got the game-winner in overtime to take. 2-1 victory, their 10th win in a row.  Coach Todd McLellan wass clear-eyed about what the Wings have to do next.

“We can either feel sorry for ourselves, which I don’t think is a great option, or get back after it and we have no choice,” he said. “It’s not like we’re in the middle of this season and  can take the time to pout a little bit. We don’t have that. ”

The Wings broke open a scoreless tie early in the third period when JT Compher banged a rebound past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington at the 5:13 mark.

That held up until Jordan Kyrou scored with 29 seconds left in regulation, his 32nd goal of the season.

“They made a good play,” McLellan said. “It’s a deflection that was nowhere near the net and you can’t cover everything. They threaded the needle and went in. So sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other team. It’s not always about the mistakes we make. They made some real good plays as well.”

Talbot Shines in Net

A Red Wing who made his own share of good plays was goalie Cam Talbot, who stopped 35 shots.

“He’s had a couple real good games, hasn’t he?”  McLellan said. “You know, he just looks confident. He looks sure of himself. I could tell on the bench when it’s going well for a goaltender because the team’s a little relaxed and they’re excited for the goaltender. You don’t sense any type of panic, and we’re going to need more of that from him as we go forward.”

Added Mo Seider:”That’s even more frustrating if you can’t get it done for him. And yeah, he’s playing unreal and at least giving ourselves a chance every night to stay in the fight.”

Cam Fowler scored the game-winner at 3:27 of overtime, taking a pass from Robert Thomas and beating Talbot with a backhand to seal it.

The Wings did get a point out of it, but lost ground to the Montreal Canadiens, who won on Tuesday.

“I thought it was a great game with two really good teams tonight,” Seider said. “Obviously two really good goaltenders on both sides. I thought Talbs really played on top of it tonight. Really helped us out here to give ourselves a chance. And of all shots and that one is going in. It’s just very unfortunate. I thought we contained them pretty well and hopefully that one point will be huge. And hopefully looking back, that was a big one. But obviously it’s really hard realizing that now because it feels like you lost one for sure.”

The Wings are off until Friday, when they play host to Carolina.

“We get on the plane, get home and get ready,” McLellan said.. “We get a couple of real tough games coming up with Carolina and Florida at home. They’re really important, and with this type of effort, we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to win.”