Red Wings Winning With Defense

There’s a key messgae that Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde is delvering persistently to his players. Take care of your end of the ice and it will lead to more chances to score at the other end of the rink.

Lately, the messaging is being adhered to, and the results are obvious.

In each of the past six games, Detroit has allowed three goals or less. The Red Wings are 5-0-1 in that stretch.

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Prior to this run of defensive stinginess, the Wings didn’t win a game through the first 37 of the season when they didn’t score a minimum of four goals.

“You take care of your zone, you do more of the good things throughout the entire ice, you get rewarded,” Lalonde said.

There’s no better evidence that this equation works to create long-term success than the performance of the Winnipeg Jets this season. They’ve now gone 33 consecutive games allowing three goals or less. The Jets share the Western Conference lead with a 29-10-4 record. They are the only NHL team that’s showing fewer than 100 goals against this season.

Tough Florida Test For Red Wings

It doesn’t get any easier for the Red Wings as they face the Florida Panthers on the road Wednesday. Detroit has lost 10 games in a row to the Panthers, the last seven in regulation. During this 10-game run, the Red Wings have scored only 15 goals and no more than two in any game.

UPDATE: Due to travel restrictions in Buffalo, tonight’s @NHLBlackhawks at @BuffaloSabres game has been postponed to tomorrow (Thurs. at 7pm ET).

Tonight’s @DetroitRedWings at @FlaPanthers game will now be available on @NHL_on_TNT in the U.S.

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— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2024

Detroit’s last victory over the Panthers was a 2-1 overtime decision at Little Caesars Arena on Feb. 20, 2021. The Red Wings are 0-5-1 at Florida since a 4-1 victory on Feb. 7, 2021.

“We knew with this stretch – LA, at Toronto, at Florida, at Carolina – we were rolling through some of the top teams in the league,” Lalonde said. “But that’s our division, that’s our conference.

“We get tested like this often. Hopefully it grows us.”