According to Detroit's coach, an uptick in practice team is the simple but salient explanation for the Red Wings' defensive improvement from December to January

December was a brutal month for the Detroit Red Wings.  The confluence of injury and a frenetic schedule left the team beleaguered, and the on-ice results reflected that reality, particularly in the defensive zone.  Their playoff chances were on life support.  Since the new year turned over, it's been a much different story.

In December, Detroit went 5-9-1 (a .367 points percentage) while giving up 4.27 goals-per-game.  In January, the Red Wings are 7-1-1 (an .833 points percentage), and that goals against figure has fallen to 2.56 a game.

According to coach Derek Lalonde, getting players like Dylan Larkin, J.T. Compher, and David Perron back in the lineup after their respective injuries and suspension was a major factor, but the other driver in that change was even more rudimentary.

"I know it sounds simple, but practice time," he said after yesterday's morning skate.  "It's just getting reps.  We're emphasizing the same things.  [December] was a schedule of hell, and it was no one's fault.  We had the Europe trip in there.  Every team has that in their schedule.  Ours happened to come in December, and it was a little more egregious than most, but that combined with us being injured, not practicing, we just didn't handle it well."

The Red Wings played 15 games over the 31 days in December, which (combined with a nasty slew of injuries) was a recipe for precious little practice time.  This month, the pace has slowed to nine games in the 22 days of January.

"Just having a more traditional schedule, much more practice time is just the reality of getting reps," Lalonde added.  "And to our guys' credit, it translated into our games."

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