The Detroit Red Wings are dreaming of a California journey that will change their fortunes.
The struggling Red Wings are looking for a turnaround when they open a three-game road trip through the state on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks.
After a strong first two dozen games to the season, the Red Wings were in a solid position to snap their run of seven straight seasons without a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they head to San Jose on a 3-9-1 skid.
A 5-3 home loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday was Detroit’s third defeat in four games.
“Frustrating, for sure,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “After our last game (a 5-4 overtime win over the Nashville Predators), we were looking to build some momentum going into a long road trip. I think going on the road will be good for us.”
Against Boston, the Red Wings erased a 2-0 deficit, but the game fell out of their grasp in the third period. They surrendered a pair of empty netters along the way.
“This was an opportunity missed,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “This was probably our most complete 60 minutes from start to finish in a while, but it came against a team where there is a very slim margin of error to be successful.”
Alex DeBrincat collected an assist and has two goals and 10 points in a five-game point streak.
In an odd twist of fate, the woes over the past 13 games coincide with the arrival of Patrick Kane, who was signed as a free agent in November and made his debut with the Red Wings on Dec. 7 against the Sharks. Kane, who saw a six-game point streak snapped against the Bruins, has netted six goals and 13 points for the Red Wings.
The Sharks are kicking off a three-game homestand after losing 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on New Year’s Eve. San Jose, which is last in the league standings, has dropped eight straight games and been outscored 36-11 in that span.
“It’s tough losing. Obviously, it’s not easy,” goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen said. “We just got to find ways, and that’s what good teams do, but I still think overall, if you don’t look at the score, I think it was a step forward in a lot of areas. Maybe it wasn’t clean all the time. The whole game wasn’t like clean, clean, but I think we did some small things out there.”
The Sharks and Avalanche were tied 1-1 with four minutes remaining, but a late game-winning goal and empty-net tally sealed their fate.
“One of the things I liked (is) we really defended hard, and we defended a lot, unfortunately,” coach David Quinn said. “But I really liked our structure. I thought we were aggressive. I thought we had a physicality to us. Held them to 33 shots, and I think they only had 10 scoring chances after two periods.
“With our (defense) corps as young as we are, and to hang in there against this team, I couldn’t be prouder of our team.”
Unfortunately for the Sharks, that corps may have taken another hit. Mario Ferraro, who leads the Sharks in average ice time, sustained an upper-body injury in Denver. San Jose is already without defensemen Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald, as well as key forwards Nico Sturm and Logan Couture.
–Field Level Media
