Detroit Red Wings need boost on offense to avoid tiring out on defense

The Detroit Red Wings will take the point — and the lesson.

After a hectic stretch that had them playing three times in four days, their next game isn't till Wednesday, when unbeaten Winnipeg arrives at Little Caesars Arena. That will allow time to rest, and to keep working on becoming a better team.

The Wings (4-4-1) squeezed a point out of the weekend with Sunday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final last season. The Wings took a 2-1 lead into the third period but couldn't muster what it takes to close out.

"We were too busy defending," Andrew Copp said. "I think we weren’t thinking about getting that next goal. We were really just trying to hold off and hold off. Against a team like that, you keep giving them O-zone possession, they’re going to break through at some point.

"Obviously we want to be defensively responsible, but we have to continue to attack a little bit more and try to get some O-zone time. The best way to defend is by playing in the offensive zone."

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That echoes what Patrick Kane said earlier in the week after the Wings won, 1-0, at the New York Islanders on the strength of Alex Lyon's goaltending.

Sunday, the Wings had a great first period, and came out of it with a one-goal lead when Kane set up J.T. Compher.

"It's nice when we're playing hungry like that, on top of them, excited to play with the puck," Kane said Sunday. "Not thinking about defending, and instead just taking it to them. We've got to get that more in our game, especially when we have a lead.

"Throughout this year, we've seen it multiple times where we have a lead and we're just kind of playing defense. It's just tough to defend like that all the time. It wears on you. It's tough on you, energy-wise. It's so much easier to play offensively with the puck in their end. We've got to get that a little bit more in our game."

Coach Derek Lalonde called the outcome, "a really good point against an opponent like that, on a back-to-back, and a three-in-four. It's a little frustrating the way things played out there in the third. But, that'a pretty darn good point considering the circumstances."

2020 MVP Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime to record his second goal, and third point of the evening, while three-time MVP Connor McDavid had a hand in both of Draisaitl's goals.

"Those are two really special players," Lalonde said. "In pre-scout we call them 'cheat-code' players, the old Nintendo — they're special players. So all in all, a pretty good point."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames .

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Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings , A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon , Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings need boost on offense to avoid tiring out on defense