After a 3-2-1 record in a run of five of six at home, the Red Wings climbed up from rock bottom but didn't make it far
After a 3-2-1 record in a run of five of six at home, the Red Wings climbed up from rock bottom but didn't make it far
Following the Nov. 18 loss in San Jose, the Red Wings season appeared doomed. A coaching change felt inevitable. The playoffs seemed a pipe dream. The "Yzer-plan," already a source of unwelcome imagination by the end of October, had never seemed in such peril. Detroit had a run of five games at home out of six to try to salvage the season.
Following yesterday afternoon's OT defeat to Vancouver, the Red Wings wrapped up that six-game stretch with a 3-2-1 record. Detroit sits 14th in the Eastern Conference—four points from the cellar and four points from a playoff position in the East's muddy middle class. With three wins and the OT loss, the Red Wings managed to survive and crawl up from what had been rock bottom following the winless California trip. However, the present position remains profoundly precarious for two reasons.
First, as of this writing, goaltenders Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot are both out injured. Though neither was at their best in California, their combined play (and Talbot's in particular) is the biggest reason Detroit has any shred of hope at this stage of the season at all. Lyon will not travel on the Red Wings' upcoming two-game road trip, while an update on Talbot's status won't come until after today's practice. If either, or especially both, are out for a prolonged period, Detroit's predicament immediately becomes far greater.
Second, the penalty kill (now 65.2%, dead last in the NHL) remains disastrous. In the three losses during this last run of six games, the Red Wings gave up two power play goals against the Canucks, two against the Devils, and one in a 2-1 loss to the Bruins. For a team with profound offensive struggles at five-on-five, it simply isn't possible to absorb that.
Now, the Red Wings will play four of their next five on the road, and they will likely need better than just survival to keep reasonable hopes alive. In the featured video above, I discussed Detroit's perilous position.
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