The Detroit Red Wings are not doing themselves any favors of late, as they have dropped their last two games, including Tuesday night's 3-2 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
With the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff races getting more intense, the Red Wings have failed to capitalize on opportunities to shore up their postseason prospects.
The loss did not sit well with Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, who called out his team's effort against the Senators.
“The room is mad. The guys are mad. That was a big game for our hockey team and unfortunate how well we played against those guys all year. And then this one tonight, it kind of wipes away our record against those guys because that was a big game,” Larkin said after the loss, via Ansar Khan of MLive.com.
The Red Wings, Senators, Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders are in a tight wild-card battle in the Eastern Conference, and with Detroit and the Isles losing on Tuesday, the Senators managed to position themselves in the No. 2 spot of the wild-card frame. The Bruins also lost on the same night, but remain atop the East's wild-card race with 86 points.
Detroit outshot Ottawa, 34-31, but the Senators clearly did more with less. Ottawa scored the first three goals of the contest.
Dominik Shine finally put the Red Wings on board with a goal in the second period before Larkin, who returned after a multi-game absence, scored on a power play early in the third frame.
Detroit, which lost another crucial game to Boston on Saturday, will look to get back on track on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
