Successful homestand a must

Home may be where the heart is but on the ice, it’s also where success is forged. A year ago, the Detroit Red Wings were a mediocre 17-17-7 at home, their worst home-ice performance in a full NHL season since winning just 10 times at Joe Louis Arena during the 1985-86 season, a campaign during which they were also the league’s worst team. Unable to reign supreme at home helped to seal the fate of Detroit’s 25-season run of playoff appearances, so as they moved into their flashy confines at Little Casears Arena, they knew cooking up a winning recipe in their new home would go a long way toward returning the team to the playoffs. The plan hasn’t worked out for them so far, though to be fair, they’ve been offered little time to implement it. Detroit has played just five of 17 games so far on home ice, going 2-2-1 at LCA. But that is about the change. The Wings begin a five-game homestand Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will play 13 of 15 on home ice between now and Dec. 15. This stretch will go a long way toward determining whether playoff hopes in Hockeytown are legit, or merely fake news. “We feel if we have a good little home stand here we could put ourselves in a pretty good spot,… Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley said. “It’s early to be scoreboard watching, but the league is so close now every night you need to find a way to get points. I think being at home should give us an advantage. Assembling any feel toward some sort of home-ice advantage in their new digs has proven to challenging, since the Wings were so infrequently there in order to get a sense of comfort in the rinl “We really haven’t had the chance to spend much time here,… Daley said. “This is our first chance to spend a little time here. It’s been one game here and you’re out of here. We haven’t had a chance to establish it (home ice advantage) for ourselves. “This is a great opportunity for us and we’re looking forward to it.… A similar stretch of home games around this time last season helped to entrench a stench around the team, an odor a failure that was the first real indication of looming trouble on the horizon. A 2-10-2 home slate between Nov. 15-Dec. 15 in which the Wings claimed six of a possible 28 points firmly established the likelihood that the playoffs was going to be an event participated in by other teams. Detroit finished the season ranked 28th in the NHL in home wins. “On the road if you go .500, you're doing pretty good,… said Detroit coach Jeff Blashill, whose team is 6-6-1 away from home so far this season. “You can’t expect to go .750, so you've got to win more games at home, and we haven't been good enough at home in the last two years. “It's a point of emphasis for us.… Abdelkader Out The Wings will begin this homestand minus left-winger Justin Abdelkader, who suffered a fractured cheekbone in Thursday’s loss at Calgary. “We expect it, we certainly think it’s going to be short-term, but he’ll see a specialist tomorrow and we’ll have more details for Wednesday’s game tomorrow,… Blashill said. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer