Red Wings Cannot Afford Slip Up Against Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes rank 27th out of 32 teams. They are 2-7-1 in their last 10.  The Coyotes recently went more than a month, 36 days to be exact, without winning a game. They were 0-14 in that stretch. Arizona gave up four or more goals in 11 of those losses.

This team has been a case study in ineffectiveness in the second half of the season. But today a Friday game against the Coyotes probably looks like a scary proposition to the Red Wings.

Eight days ago, the Red Wings were riding a wave of optimism over a six-game winning streak. This morning, they have to worry about slipping into a losing streak that could undermine their playoff hopes.

“There’s no shame in losing to Florida and this Colorado team back to back,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde after the Red Wings lost 7-2 to Colorado Wednesday. “But to do it back to back, now we’re looking at three straight losses. Bottom line is if we’re going to stay in this battle, we got to stop the bleeding when you have these runs. Right now, we’re in a run. ”

The run of losing includes being outscored 16-5 in the  losses.  Another bothersome aspect of the loss in Denver is that the Red Wings beat the Avalanche 2-1 in overtime in Detroit 13 days ago.

Red Wings loss to Avs was rather predictable but they better win Friday at that glorified beer league rink in Arizona. As for dogging Moritz Seider for one bad game, it should be noted he is by far the world’s best defenseman his age group. Don’t be stupid. He’s a genuine star. pic.twitter.com/QqodXO216j

— Pat Caputo (@patcaputo98) March 7, 2024

Lost Their Desperation

Brands like FanDuel favor the Red Wings. But Detroit players know they have to play sharper than they did against the Avalanche.

“That’s a Colorado team that can expose you defensively, obviously, and they did.” Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “So a lot to work on, a lot to correct. We got to get that desperation back that we had. It’s obviously not there right now and we better get it back in a hurry.”

After three consecutive losses, the Red Wings’ lead in the wild card is now just four points ahead of the New York Islanders, who have won four in a row.

If they lose to Arizona, they would take a four-game losing streak into Las Vegas the next night for a game against the defending champion Golden Knights. They don’t finish the road trip until they play in Buffalo Tuesday night. The Sabres are well down in the wild-card race, but are 6-3-1 in their last 10.

“Just little things we’re going to sort out and hopefully we can end that streak with the next game,” said Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider, “and finish with a positive road trip.”