Red Wings vs. Senators 3-31-2015

Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (61) and Detroit Red Wings center Joakim Andersson (18) battle for the puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Detroit Tuesday, March 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT -- Coach Mike Babcock wasn't in the mood to take a negative tone about his team following a 2-1 shootout loss to Ottawa Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena.



The coach cut off a line of questioning about whether he was happy with his team's intensity at the start of the game.

"You guys when you're asking me these questions want to be negative more than me," Babcock said, before walking off. "I don't want to do that, so this is what I thought: I thought our team competed real hard. I thought they had more hands on deck than us and I thought they played faster than us. You guys have a good night."

Babcock used most of his postgame remarks to heap praise on a 33-save performance from Petr Mrazeck, a performance that earned the second-year goaltender a vote of confidence as Detroit's starter going forward.

The Red Wings lack of shots, and inability to clear Ottawa out of their zone was less of a concern to the coach than a decreasing number of healthy bodies.

Pavel Datsyuk (ankle) was a late scratch as was Riley Sheahan (upper-body) while Erik Cole was still day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Less than two minutes into the game, Detroit lost forward Drew Miller to facial lacerations. Senators forward Mark Stone lost his balance, and his skate caught Miller's face coming up off the ice.

While Miller didn't damage his eye, his streak of 158 consecutive games could be in jeopardy.

"Guys knew he was getting sewed up, but it was more we were counting on Millsie and Glenny to have a big night for us and then suddenly Glenny's linemate gone," Babcock said. "I think that's a big a part of it as anything. Millsie looks like he's going to have a big-time scare but he'll be back. Obviously, we just need some more hands on deck."

Added depth would have helped Detroit match Ottawa's four lines. The added depth helped the Senators control time of possession by a significant margin, and outshoot the Red Wings two to one (34 to 17).

"We turned the puck over too much but they were quicker and faster and better," Babcock said. "We played three lines from the start of the game. They played four lines, just because we lost people. We lost Helm for a while. So I think that had a lot to do with it"

Babcock said his players "were dialed in" on the bench, and remains confident they can rebound from a disappointing March, a month that the Red Wings didn't win back-to-back games.

"I thought that was a huge point for our team," Babcock said. "After the shootout I saw Pete sprint off the ice. To me he doesn't have anything to hand his head about. I thought he was outstanding, gave us a chance and ideally I'm optimistic by the time Boston gets to town we'll have more hands on deck."

Michael Niziolek covers local sports for MLive Ann Arbor News. Email him at mniziole@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+