Following their 5-0 shutout loss to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon, Detroit Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin said they'll have something to prove in Monday's rematch in Denver.
The Detroit Red Wings wanted to give the sellout crowd at Little Caesars Arena something to cheer for in what would be their final home game until early March, thanks to the upcoming Olympic break.
Their opponent on Saturday afternoon was the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, who clearly had other plans.
The Avalanche looked every bit the top-ranked club in the League, handing the Red Wings a frustrating 5-0 setback in the first of a two-game home-and-home series that concludes on Monday evening in Denver.
It wasn't the way the Red Wings wanted to close out their three-game home stand, which yielded only a single point out of a possible six up for grabs.
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However, team captain Dylan Larkin explained that Monday evening will be an opportunity for his team to prove that Saturday's loss was an anomaly.
"We've got two really big games (left before the break)," Larkin explained afterward. "Every team is going through it, playing the same schedule. We've played a lot of hockey, and you get bumps and bruises, illnesses, you're going through it."
"It (the break) is coming at a good time, and I think it'll be huge for our team, but the beauty of this is that we get to play these guys again."
The Avalanche had experienced a few setbacks of their own in recent games, dropping contests to both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both of whom are chasing Detroit in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division standings.
"They're the number one team in the League, but they're not the best team ever," Larkin said of the Avalanche. "It's not like we're playing against guys that can't be beat, so we have to go into their building with something to prove and start a big two-game swing for us."
While the Red Wings maintained their second-place status in the Atlantic, the teams behind them have crept even closer in their rear-view mirror.
As of Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres each have 67 points, just three behind Detroit's 70 points, and they play one another later that evening, meaning one of them will be within a point of Detroit by night’s end.
Following Monday's rematch against the Avalanche, the Red Wings will face the Utah Mammoth in their second-ever trip to Delta Center in Salt Lake City, which will then be followed by the Olympic break.
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