These next two months could be make it or break it time for the Detroit Red Wings in terms of finding out where they truly belong in the NHL food chain.
With 17 of their next 23 games on the road starting with Saturday’s game at Vancouver against the Canucks, this is when the Wings can prove that they are really one of the league’s top squads by coming out of this stretch with their heads still well above water in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.
“I feel like we have a chance, if we really dig in and we want to do it every day and be detail-orientated and we want to keep pushing one another to get better, we have a chance to be a good team,… Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “Otherwise you just stay in the mud puddle with everybody.
“If you look at the league, there’s 20 teams in that group. There’s a few at the top and then there’s a whole bunch of us. We’re all the same and one day you say ‘Gee, we’re OK’ and then you look at who’s underneath you and just out of the playoffs and you’re not far away.
“I think it’s just important to live scared and get better.…
The key to success, according to Babcock, is to maintain control – of their emotions, of their system and most of all, of the puck.
“Whether you’re playing at home or on the road, you’ve got to play well,… Babcock said. “Our focus is to keep improving as a team. That’s what we talk about every day.
“We’re playing a good opponent tonight. We understand on the road if you don’t take care of the puck you have a hard time being successful. We’re going to try to play real well without it and be hard when we get it.…
Currently, just 10 points separate first from 10th in the East, so every point gained is valuable.
“The table is really stacked right now so we need these points a lot,… Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re playing home or away. It’s really equal right now. Every point we can get, we need.
Staying healthy and focused while on this road trip will be essential to any long-term success Detroit hopes to obtain.
“There’s lots of games in a short term,… Tatar said. “We have to focus, stay healthy, recover good and try and pick up as many points as we can.…
The Wings understand that there’s a fine line between success and failure with the league being so tightly bunched.
“It’s pretty evident when we play well and when we don’t play well, what we do right,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We have to get back to that every night.
“It’s been a little bit on and off last month or so, at least the last three weeks. We want to get back to the playing the style of hockey we’ve had success with.…
Matching Up The Wings will be without the final line change for the vast majority of their games over the next two months, meaning their opponents will have control of the match-up game.
This is why the Detroit players feel it’s so important in the grand scheme of things that they know they can rely on all 18 skaters in the lineup on any given night.
“You should focus on playing the same game,… Detroit forward Drew Miller said, while admitting that things aren’t the same when they play away from home.
“You’ve got to prepare a little bit different. The match-ups will be a little bit different with the home team getting the last change, so I think that's the biggest difference.
“Everyone's got to be able to play against everyone and rely and count on each line and D-pairing to step up.…
The Wings will go Saturday with the same lineup and same lines and defensive pairings that worked together during their last game, a 3-1 win over New Jersey on New Year’s Eve. Jimmy Howard gets the nod in goal.
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