Detroit coach Mike Babcock: 'We stole Game 1 and they just stole this game'
Detroit coach Mike Babcock is not the kind of coach who traditionally speaks to his team after games, but he broke from the norm after Thursday night's overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning to lift the spirits of a team down on its luck.
The Red Wings had a 2-1 series lead entering Thursday night's Game 4, and they played well enough to extend that lead to 3-1, but the Bolts came from behind in the third period to steal the game.
"I believe that we stole Game 1 and they just stole this game," Babcock told the media after the game. "So to me it should be 2-2. Here it is. It’s the best of three. Let’s play."
Indeed Detroit controlled play through the first two periods Thursday night and was still playing well in the third until the final seven minutes of the game. With 7:28 left on the clock, the two teams got into a scuffle. Detroit center Luke Glendening was injured in the skirmish and did not return to the game, and momentum shifted to the Lightning.
Tampa took advantage, scoring two goals in a 1:17 span soon after to tie the game at 2-2 and send it to overtime.
"I thought we had them in big-time trouble," Babcock said in his post-game press conference. "For whatever reason, when we lost Glenny there, for whatever reason they got energy and we didn’t and they made some plays, but I actually liked — I thought our team played good."
(h/t CBS Detroit)
Photo by Rick Osentoski - USA Today
