Mike Babcock’s Detroit Red Wings had plenty of effort against the Boston Bruins but no results to match it after they bowed out in five games on Saturday afternoon.
Following the game, Babcock told reporters his team wasn’t good enough saying, “We weren’t a tough out at all.”
The Red Wings only won once in the series and ruined their chance at evening things up in Game 4 when they blew a 2-0 lead and ultimately the game in overtime 3-2.
Babcock’s take was a harsh but honest assessment but one Bruins captain Zdeno Chara disagreed with.
Zee: "That series was a lot tougher than maybe the results showed; Detroit is a really good team with a great system & great players" ^CS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 26, 2014
As for what the Red Wings need most over the summer to prepare for next season, Babcock summed up everything his team didn’t really have this season.
"We gotta have a big summer. We gotta get healthy and we gotta get in shape." - Mike Babcock
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 26, 2014
Health was clearly the Red Wings’ biggest issue this season and one that had a blessing in disguise. Injuries to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and many others gave players like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and Tomas Jurco opportunities to play big minutes in important games.
That’ll help down the road, but it feels empty now after bowing out in the first round.