The Detroit Red Wings have wallowed in mediocrity during the first month and a half of the season, which is not conducive to ending an eight-year playoff drought.
Detroit hasn’t been able to string together more than two wins together since late October. The Red Wings, who host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, hope their comeback victory over the New York Islanders on Monday is the start of something big.
Detroit scored three unanswered goals in the final period against the Islanders to capture a 4-2 win and avoid its fifth loss in six games.
“We’re in desperation mode for sure,” goaltender Alex Lyon told the Detroit News. “We need to play desperate every night and the best teams in this league play desperate every night. If you’re not desperate you have to find a way to play desperate. It’s good, it’s fun to play that way and it’s a grind, but it’s kind of where we’re at. We need to continue to push real hard.”
The Red Wings’ power play had been highly productive until their last three games. They have come up empty in their last 10 opportunities, including three on Monday.
Detroit’s first line produced at even strength against the Islanders, as Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond scored the tying and go-ahead goals, respectively. Raymond has scored in three consecutive games after netting just two goals in the first 18 contests.
“You need a top line if you’re going to be good in this league and if you’re going to have success,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “Those guys have been doing it of late.”
So has the defensive unit. After surrendering 15 goals during a three-game losing streak from Nov. 15-18, the Red Wings have given up just five over the past three contests.
“We’ve had some ups and downs but this team has shown some battle,” Lalonde said. “Hopefully, we can keep building our game.”
Calgary had a four-game winning streak snapped at Ottawa on Monday, 4-3. The Flames were done in by a wave of penalties. They had 20 penalty minutes, leading to nine Senators power plays. Ottawa converted on two of them.
“It’s hard to win when you have 20 penalty minutes, right? It’s one-third of the game in the penalty box,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “They have a good power play. I didn’t think we were playing our best, even at five on five. I think they were a desperate team, they were a little bit more desperate than us to start.”
Coach Ryan Huska cited a lack of discipline for the loss.
“We took eight minor penalties. I don’t care what league you’re in, you’re not going to win a hockey game, or give yourself a chance to win,” he said. “But hey, five on five, we did some things and there was a fight right to the end, which I’m pretty proud of our group. But we didn’t really give ourselves a chance with the amount of penalties we were taking.”
That game began a four-game road trip for the Flames, who will also visit Columbus and Pittsburgh this week.
“We gave it our all until the end. It’s one of these games that you just leave behind you, and you move on,” Andersson said.
Detroit has won its last four meetings with Calgary. It’s uncertain whether the Red Wings will have forward Patrick Kane (three goals, seven assists), who missed Monday’s game due to an upper-body injury.
