So Sad: bad news on top bad news for Detroit Red Wings coach

After their 5-3 loss, Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde pushes back on what he feels is a “misleading” stat. Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports

The month of December concluded on a disappointing note for the Detroit Red Wings, culminating in a 5-3 defeat at Little Caesars Arena against division rivals, the Boston Bruins.
The Red Wings’ struggle to secure wins when scoring three or fewer goals persisted, extending their record to 0-17-1 in such games this season. However, head coach Derek Lalonde views this statistic as “misleading.”

Lalonde addressed the concerning trend facing his team, specifically the absence of victories with scores of 3-2 or 2-1. He expressed that this statistic doesn’t provide the complete context or a comprehensive view of the team’s performance.

“That’s a misleading stat because we have two shutouts and a lot of those four-goal games we’ve given one or two or three goals,” Lalonde said afterward. “Of course, our defense needs to improve,” Lalonde said. And against Boston, it did. Just not enough to garner two points.”

Lalonde then went on to say that he felt his team’s effort tonight was perhaps their most complete start-to-finish game of the season, though it yielded a disappointing result.

“Probably our most complete 60 minutes from start to finish in a while,” Lalonde said. “Just came against a team with a very slim margin of error to be successful. It’s a little disappointing. I think they only had one chance in the third and it was a missed face-off assignment and in the back of the net.”

Regardless of how Lalonde feels about the stat, the simple fact is that his team has not won a single hockey game this season in which they don’t score at least four goals. While it’s a positive that Detroit’s offense has improved this season, their defensive play and goaltending have to improve if they are to have a realistic shot at the postseason.

The Red Wings are now preparing for a three-game road trip starting Tuesday night at SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks. The game kicks off at 10:30 PM EST and can be watched on Bally Sports Detroit, with radio coverage available on 97.1 The Ticket.