Seeking A Way Out Of The Doldrums

In their worst 10-game skid since opening the season 1-7-2, the Detroit Red Wings need to find a way to right the ship and fast. As they prepare for Saturday’s game in Dallas against the Stars, the Wings are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. Detroit is 11 points out of an Atlantic Division playoff spot and eight points shy of a wildcard spot and every team ahead of them in the standings that is currently holding a playoff spot also holds games in hand on the Wings. The Wings have surrendered 10 goals in their last two games, and four goals or more in eight of 13 December games thus far. “You can’t give up the number of goals we’ve given up and be happy with it,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told Detroitredwings.com. “We’ve got to make sure we cut down on the number of goals against. We’re playing some high-powered offensive teams. It’s hard to eliminate all their offense but you’ve got to make sure you’re not giving up anything easy. You’ve got to make sure they’re earning everything. “You certainly can’t give up as many goals as we’ve given up and have a chance to win.… There’s an old line in sports about forgetting what made you famous, and the Wings have certainly been guilty of that infraction many times, and not only during this season. “I think we started slow obviously with our season and then we got going,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “I felt like everyone was on the same page and we had some urgency. We had that going for quite a while. But all that is something you’ve gotta stick with. It’s easy to get comfortable when you think you’re playing well. “I felt for a bit there that we kind of lost it for a little bit, a stretch of four or five games where we didn’t play up to our best. We got away with one against L.A. (3-1 win) that we probably shouldn’t have. Good goaltending has kept us in games, but we have to play our best every night. Otherwise we don’t stand a chance.… Rediscovering that groove ASAP is essential if the Wings want to maintain even a glimmer of hope that they can still make something of this season. “We need to come together, like we did in Florida when we were in that tough (-17-2) stretch,… Wings center Dylan Larkin said. “We need two points to get us out of this and get our confidence back in ourselves. Our goaltending has been great. We need our special teams to be a little bit better and we need to score more to win. We just need to find a way to get two points and then get on a roll. “It’s got to come from within and if you look at our schedule, it’s not getting any easier real soon here.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer