J.T. Compher was the lone Detroit skater to light the lamp on Thursday, a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena in which his ninth goal of the season cut Detroit’s deficit to 2-1 a little before the midway point of the third period before the hosts put things out of reach with three unanswered tallies.
Chiarot, like McLellan, was encouraged by the club’s effort for much of the night against the Lightning.
“Just a couple mistakes, obviously, cost us in the end,” Chiarot said. “Tampa’s a good, dangerous team. You give them a look, they’re going to capitalize. And then on the flip side, had our chances there too to put it in the net. Bear down a little bit, maybe we get out of there with a point, maybe two. But honestly, really liked the effort from the team defensively.”
To collect as many points as possible down this final stretch, maintaining that same level of effort — even with several key players currently sidelined — becomes essential for Detroit.
“We lost Ras for probably a week at least,” McLellan said. “Brandsegg-Nygard’s out day-to-day, so we continue to take it on the chin a little bit up front, but the recalls have actually provided us with some energy. They’re excited about being here. They’ve been able to give us a little bit of a spark. A lot of juggling going on, guys playing out of position, but that’s the deck we’re dealt with right now and what we have to deal with.”
