Disastrous Effort in Nashville Ignites Wings
FollowThe Red Wings look like a completely different team than the one that lost 3-0 and 4-1 to the Nashville Predators just last week. Detroit is now on a five game winning streak after a shootout win against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
The Wings, who have struggled with consistency and turnovers all season, have played some their best hockey all season. They even seem to be playing better defensively while out scoring the opposition by a 22 to 9 margin.
The turning point came after a horrendous 4-1 loss to Nashville which saw a depleted Red Wings struggle to keep up with a much hungrier Predators team. Frustrated with his team’s lack of effort, Head Coach Mike Babcock conducted a hard practice hoping to inspire a stronger work ethic.
His tactic seems to have worked with the veteran team responding by playing better team defense and more importantly picking up wins and points in the NHL standings race. The Red Wings are now currently second in a tight Western Conference with 80 points.
Detroit has been bolstered by the return of Pavel Datsyuk (hand), Tomas Holmstrom (hand), Dan Cleary (foot), and Brad Stuart (Jaw). Another boost should be coming when the Wings get Valtteri Filppula (strained ACL), Mike Modano (cut tendon) and Chris Osgood (Hernia) back soon.
With the close race in the Western Conference playoff race, the Wings cannot afford any more lackluster efforts like the two recent games against the Predators. With a strong stretch run, Detroit can not only position itself for a playoff spot but also make a statement about the type of team opposition can expect to face this spring.