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Red Wings Seeking to Avoid Threepeat of Losses

Detroit hasn’t lost three in a row since early December

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3 months ago

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David Perron, Red Wings
To get back to winning, Red Wings forward David Perron believes they need to get back to playing to their identity.

Last month, when the Detroit Red Wings were coming off a setback at Carolina, goaltender Alex Lyon was stressing that good teams don’t allow losses to accumulate in succession.

“You can’t let those little snowballs start rolling down the hill,” Lyon said.

They say that things come in threes and that’s certainly not an axiom in which the Red Wings are going to want to be investing. Things are in danger of snowballing for them. Heading to Calgary for a Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. ET) date with the Flames, Detroit is off to an 0-2 start on the club’s four-game road trip.

It’s been 21 games since the Red Wings lost three in a row. In fact, they endured a four-game skid from Dec. 7-11. The team has only lost three in a row in regulation twice all season. That, as much as any reason, is why they find themselves currently residing in a playoff position.

However, if they want to maintain possession of that real estate, they need to start winning again and soon.

Like today, for instance.

“One thing I like about this group, we usually take it pretty personally and we like to respond,” forward Christian Fischer was telling Bally Sports Detroit following Thursday’s 4-1 loss at Vancouver. “We’ve done that over the whole course.”

That setback came on the heels of an 8-4 pounding at Edmonton which opened this four-game away sojourn.

Red Wings Must Get Back To Identity

During a 9-2-2 run in January, the Red Wings were playing a solid, defensively responsible brand of hockey. This is the first time since Dec. 29-31 that Detroit has surrendered 4+ goals in successive games.

Getting back to who they were is the recipe the Red Wings need to succeed.

“I think most of our wins need to come from the identity that we showed all January,” forward David Perron said. “We gotta get back at it.”

Clinging to the second Wild Card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Detroit is two points ahead of New Jersey and three in front of the New York Islanders. All three clubs are sitting on 53 games played.

Defenseman Jake Walman believes the team can draw strength at times like this from the club’s veteran leadership.

“The belief comes from our room for sure and comes up top,” Walman said. “We got a great group of leaders and guys that have done it before.

“If you don’t know anything, you just gotta listen to those guys. Like DP, Larks, guys that have been there before in those games. Learn from them. I think they bring confidence to the group.”

Recent Success Against Calgary

Detroit has won three in a row over the Flames, including a 5-2 verdict last season at Calgary.

“These next two games are huge on this trip to see if we can come out .500,” Fischer said. “We know exactly where we’re at in this fight. We’re gonna need every point.”

Certainly, there’s no cause for panic.

“There’s a lot of hockey to be played,” captain Dylan Larkin said.

At the same time, nipping this slide in the bud must be a priority. And getting back to who they are as a team is how the Red Wings will get that done.

“We feel in this room that there’s no secret to the position we’re in and it’s our team identity,” Larkin said. “It’s playing with intensity, sticking together and doing it by committee with our depth, three goalies, all of our defensemen playing.

“We feel we’re exactly where we belong.”

If they want to stay there, the Red Wings must get back to their winning ways. And soon.

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