Moritz Seider nailed it: It was one step.
But it was a good one.
The Detroit Red Wings (21-21-6) can feel pleased for a couple days as they prepare to meet the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday for the second time this week. The first time went well, as the Wings earned a 6-3 victory Wednesday in Philadelphia that showed they’ve learned something from recent outings.
“I liked the fact we didn’t give them much in the third, and we’ve been in that position lots and not always played the type of hockey you need to play,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We did a pretty good job of keeping some pressure on them without giving them a power play. I liked that part of it. I thought in the offensive zone we were really good, we did a really good job of taking what was given and attacking when we could attack, and if not, being patient.”
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Blashill has been on the Wings to get better at recognizing when it’s too risky to make a play and when it’s better just to hold onto the puck. It helps to play with a lead, of course, which the Wings did from early in the first period. But the Flyers had made it 4-3 going into the third, and the Wings have been in that spot recently and lost — such as when they had a 4-2 lead Jan. 29 against the Toronto Maple Leafs with 10 minutes remaining, followed by five goals by the Leafs and a Wings loss.
“We were not trying to lose when we played the Maple Leafs,” Seider said. “It was just bearing down and playing a full 60 minutes.
“But that’s only the first step. We play them back-to-back, so it will be an interesting matchup for us. We want to sweep them and get four points.”
Seider contributed two assists to the victory, one of multiple Wings with multi-point games. Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Pius Suter and Robby Fabbri each had a goal and an assist, and Vladislav Namestnikov and Givani Smith also scored. That evened the scoring across all four lines.
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“We’re going to need depth of scoring as we go through the rest of the season,” Blashill said. “We tried to play all four lines, and they all did a good job at different times in the game.”
The Flyers have lost 14 of their past 16 games, but beating them required killing five penalties. It also it required mental toughness, especially in the third period. Though February’s schedule is light, next week has the Wings visiting the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers. Winning in Philadelphia only boosted the Wings’ road record to 7-12-3. Getting the lead and then shutting down a road foe, regardless of the record, gives a measure of confidence that the Wings can do it again though.
“It was a good step for us that way and we’re going to hopefully have lots of those challenges ahead,” Blashill said. “Hopefully we’re in that spot a lot. We need to succeed in them. That third was a good step in the right direction.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.