The ultimate fate of an NHL team during any given contest can sometimes come down to a series of bounces and what some fans would simply refer to as good or bad luck.
Such was the case for Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat on Thursday evening during his team’s Home Opener loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena.
He had multiple prime scoring chances that were denied by goaltender Jakub Dobes, or as was the case early in the second period, by the post.
DeBrincat’s ringer off the left post came just minutes before the Canadiens grabbed a 4-1 stranglehold over the Red Wings; had the puck been literally an inch to the right, it would have been a 3-2 hockey game.
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“It seemed like I missed both of those, and then they went down and scored shortly after, so it could have been a whole different game if those went in,” DeBrincat said on Friday. “Sometimes those are the bounces, that first one hit his shoulder and then the post. I hit my spot, and sometimes they go in, sometimes, they don’t.”
Like McLellan, DeBrincat reiterated that the setback against the Canadiens wasn’t the result of any single player but by the team getting away from the fundamentals.
“Letting in five, we shot ourselves in the foot,” DeBrincat said of the loss. “We gave up too many chances, and they’re a skilled team so they’re going to convert on those. Everything they got, we kind of gave to them. It was unfortunate.”
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“I think we talk about these things of how we’re going to play and the systems, and we have our blueprint; we just didn’t follow it,” he continued. “We knew what they were going to do, we knew from the start of the game. We just didn’t execute on defense and gave them too many chances.”
DeBrincat was Detroit’s leading goal scorer last season with 39 tallies, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him reach a similar number this season. Speaking of offensive firepower, the Toronto Maple Leafs still boast no shortage of said despite the offseason trade of Mitch Marner.
In order for the Red Wings to avoid a similar collapse like what they experienced against the Canadiens, the key will be tightening up defensively.
“Staying above them, playing on the defensive side of the puck,” DeBrincat said on how to defend against the Maple Leafs. “Just in general, forechecking hard. We did a little bit of that yesterday, but not enough. If we want to win games, we’re going to need to get more opportunities, and give up less.”
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