Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock’s message to forward Justin Abdelkader was clear, stay out of the penalty box in tonight’s crucial Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks.
According to Ansar Khan of Mlive.com, the Wings have been shorthanded five times this series because of penalties courtesy of Abdelkader. That includes a double-minor for high-sticking during overtime of Game 1, a penalty that expired 20 seconds before Benn Ferriero’s goal.
“I just told him, (three) games in a row now, ‘You’ve got to decide. Are you going to be one of those guys that their whole career takes a bad penalty at the wrong time?’ ” Babcock said. “Or are you going to look after it?
“He’s a great kid and a great teammate, and he’s going to get it looked after.”
Abdelkader’s penalties further prove that this is really two separate series’ in one. Khan writes that the Sharks went 4-15 on the power play during the first three games. The past three games the Sharks have been 0-10.
“Maybe it’s not going my way, but at the same time, I’ve just got to be smart out there,” Abdelkader said. “We (him and Boyle) were both fighting for position going for the puck, and the ref said I held him. I think they were looking to make a call at that point of the game, and I’ve got to know better. Can’t give them an opportunity to make a call like that.”
Abdelkader called it a long two minutes sitting in the box, “not a fun feeling.”
“You don’t want your team short-handed when you’re up like that in the third period,” he said. “You think about it and hopefully learn from it and not do it again.”
The Wings are too good of a team to be taking bad penalties and Babcock and Abdelkader know this. It would be a shame if the Wings’ season and this tremendous comeback comes down to one bad penalty taken by not only Abdelkader but any other Wing.
Source: Mlive.com
