The playoffs are officially still 11 games away, but forgive the Detroit Red Wings for feeling like they are already playing for their lives every time they take the ice.

“We’ve been in playoff mode for a while now,” Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot said.

Big trip. pic.twitter.com/C7Gm0iIYcL

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 25, 2024

That will certainly be the case on Tuesday.

At Washington to face to Capitals, Detroit is trailing the Caps by one point for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot. Making matters more concerning for the Wings, the Capitals are also holding a game in hand over Detroit.

“It’s exciting, it’s a fun time of year,” said Detroit forward Patrick Kane, a three-time Stanley Cup winner. “It’s almost like you’re in playoffs right now, even though we have 11 games left.

“You look at (this) like a playoff game. Obviously it’s the team ahead of us in the standings. If we beat them, we’re in a playoff spot. They have a game in hand and they’re playing really well right now, so it’ll be a good test for us.”

Game Time/How to Watch

7 p.m., ET, Bally Sports

Red Wings Preview

Alex Lyon will be in goal for the Red Wings, making his second consecutive start. He’s lost his last eight decisions.

“I just try to keep the same mentality, keep positive,” Lyon said. “It’s very difficult but those are the important things. You’re gonna change your game all the time. You’re always gonna be tweaking the way you feel. How’s my body feeling, how’s my brain feeling, my emotions? But the most important thing is to just continue to fight. Keeping that fight and that energy is vital.”

Defenseman Jake Walman is still sidelined with an undisclosed injury. That means Simon Edvinsson is still playing in Detroit’s top four defenseman . . . Defenseman Dan Petry (illness) is good to go. The Red Wings lines are expected to be David Perron-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat-J.T. Compher-Patrick Kane, Michael Rasmussen-Andrew Copp-Christian Fischer, Robby Fabbri-Joe Veleno-Austin Czarnik . . . On Monday, the Red Wings assigned forward Jonatan Berggren to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.

Detroit has been shut out three times over the past 11 games, including Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Nashville.

“Definitely some good things from the game,” Red Wings forward J.T. Compher said. “Need to create a little more offensively, not be as selective with our shots. Defensively a lot of good things.”

Capitals Preview

Since an 8-3 loss to the Red Wings at Detroit on Feb. 27, Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren is 8-3-0 with a 2.22 GAA, .923 save percentage and two shutouts . . . The Capitals are 4-1 over their past five games and 12-5-1 over the last 18 games. They are 6-2 in their last eight home games.

Alex Ovechkin celebrating his goal with his son behind the glass is everything #allcaps. pic.twitter.com/JfVgg6sRmP

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) March 25, 2024

Washington star Alex Ovechkin has eight goals over his past five games, including a pair of game winners . . . Capitals tough guy Tom Wilson will be sitting out the second of a six-game NHL suspension for high sticking . . . Defenseman John Carlson is riding a five-game point streak (2-3-5).

The post Playoff Race: Red Wings vs. Capitals; Lines, Notes, How to Watch appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

It feels as if we are watching the Detroit Red Wings in the midst of a self-destruct countdown. “It’s self-inflicted wounds,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said talking about the final two periods of a 4-1 to Arizona.

Bob Duff wrote that the Red Wings have “no excuse” to lose to the Arizona Coyotes for the second time in a week. Given how well the Red Wings had been playing, this seven-game losing streak seems even more cruel for fans.

“The club’s playoff chances are moving toward being put on life support,” Duff wrote.

Neither the players or Lalonde have an answer, although they see many problems.

“It could be a number of different factors,” Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “But we need to get this thing going in the right direction. We have to be better defensively. I think you see the chances that we give up. There ones that shouldn’t happen, especially at this time of year, when everything should be rolling in the same direction. It should be like a machine at this point. Just everyone knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and being there at the right time. We’re not there yet and we need to get there in a hurry.”

Head coach Derek Lalonde emphasizes Detroit's defensive breakdowns as a significant factor in the Red Wings' loss to the Coyotes tonight.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/d6OBXpF7zO

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) March 15, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Bob Duff writes that the Red Wings have no excuse for losing to the Arizona Coyotes. They are now 0-2 this week as they embark on five games in a row against non-playoff teams.
• Coach Derek Lalonde made Daniel Sprong a healthy scratch for Thursday’s game. Austin Czarnik was called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
• After a seventh consecutive loss, Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot said simply: “We have to be better defensively.”
• Injured Detroit captain Dylan Larkin is expected to be ready some time next week. Is that going to be too late?

Red Wings Next Game

The Red Wings will play the hot Buffalo Sabres team Saturday in a matinee (12:30) at Little Caesars Arena. The Sabres have won three in a row and five of their last eight (5-2-1). That includes a 7-3 thrashing of the Red Wings last Tuesday. The Sabres are only three points out of an Eastern Conference wild card spot.

Hockey Now Network

Buffalo: Thanks to goalkeeper Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the Buffalo Sabres are back in the Eastern Conference wild card race.

Chicago: Former Notre Dame player Landon Slaggert will make his Chicago Blackhawks debut tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.

Montreal: Marc Dumont reports that goalie Jake Allen blocked a trade to the New Jersey Devils earlier in the season because he didn’t believe New Jersey’s three-goalie system would be beneficial for him.  Montreal Canadiens.

Nashville:  The New Jersey Devils, according to the Athletic insider Pierre LeBrun, expect to make another run at acquiring  goalie Juuse Saros from the Nashville Senators in the offseason.

Philadelphia: Jonathan Bailey is wondering whether Philadelphia Flyers‘ Cam York is the NHL’s most underrated defenseman?

Pittsburgh: Defenseman Erik Karlsson shoots down rumors that the Ottawa Senators will bring him back to Ottawa with an offseason trade. Pittsburgh Penguins.

The post The Daily: Red Wings At A Loss to Explain; Karlsson Shoots Down Rumor appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

In the latter stages of the third period, evidently oblivious to the debacle unfolding right before their very eyes, Detroit Red Wings fans crowded into Little Caesars Arena were belting out a rendition of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Player.

There’s just one problem with that selection.

Currently, the Red Wings are living like they don’t have a prayer. And the club’s playoff chances are moving toward being put on life suport.

That L must’ve tasted like Mom’s Spaghetti. https://t.co/24voed6UwW pic.twitter.com/9eSHIwMKuC

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 15, 2024

A 4-1 home-ice loss to the Arizona Coyotes should be a tipping point for a team that has now lost seven games in a row, all in regulation.

“It’s unacceptable,” Red Wings forward David Perron said.

More like inexcuasble.

Red Wings Are Coyotes Ugly

In the span of a week, Detroit lost twice to Arizona, the 24th-best team in the 32-team NHL. In those two games, the Red Wings were outscored 8-1.

The Coyotes are 4-16-2 over their past 22 games. Fifty percent of those victories came at the expense of a Detroit squad in a battle for an Eastern Conference wild card spot.

The New York Islanders remain percentage points ahead of the Red Wings for that eighth and final postseason placing. Beating the Isles 4-0 on Thursday, the Buffalo Sabres were moving to within three points of Detroit.

The Sabres and Red Wings battle on Saturday afternoon at LCA. Just three days ago, Buffalo was throttling Detroit 7-3. But if you were thinking things couldn’t get much worse for the Wings, boy were you wrong.

Embarrassing Loss For Red Wings

Should you have been unlucky enough to witness Thursday’s contest, you saw a dreadful exhibition of hockey. The Coyotes were desperately seeking a way to find a defeat. This is a team that struggles to complete a tape-to-tape pass of more than 10 feet. They commit enough turnovers to stock a bakery’s inventory for many a day.

Yet as much as they sought to hand the game to the Red Wings, Detroit was unwilling to accept this charity.

The Red Wings are currently a team playing without composure, lacking fire and displaying an utter inability to either generate offense or make a reliable commitment to defense.

“We have to be better defensively,” Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “I think you see the chances that we give up.”

Picture perfect deflection by Carcone https://t.co/cP1UdvLEtC pic.twitter.com/o5KraMjYjY

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 15, 2024

A Jonatan Berggren turnover, compounded by the fact that Moritz Seider blew a tire, led to the first Coyotes goal. Olli Maatta was caught out of position on the seecond. Neither Chiarot or Jake Walman picked up a wide-open Nick Bjugstad in the slot on the third Coyotes tally.

Continuing, Chiarot uttered some words that should send chills of fear down the spines all every member of the Red Wings faithful.

Costly Defensive Miscues

“They’re ones that shouldn’t happen, especially at this time of year, when everything should be rolling in the same direction,” Chiarot explained of the defensive miscues. “It should be like a machine at this point. Just everyone knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and being there at the right time.

“We’re not there yet and we need to get there in a hurry.”

Is that on the coaches, or the players? Yes and yes.

It’s also, as noted earlier and emphasized by Chiarot, inexcusable at this juncture of the season.

“It’s as tough as it gets in the room right now,” Perron said. “We gotta find a way to bounce back.

“We gotta find a way to get up, put our pride on the line and be better.”

The post No Excuse For Latest Red Wings Setback appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Detroit Red Wings have lost six games in a row. They’ve sqaundered their hold on an NHL playoff position.

Nerves are frayed. Frustration is growing. And tempers are flaring.

Ben Chiarot and Lucas Raymond had to be separated during Wings practice.

Detroit has lost 6 in a row and has fallen out of the top-8 in the East …

(via @JeannaTrotmanTV) pic.twitter.com/zyeFS48nTJ

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 13, 2024

During a drill at practice on Wednesday, forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Ben Chiarot came to blows. Teammates were required to intervene in order to separate the combatants.

This, according to Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, is a good thing. It’s a positive development for a club that needs to get back on track.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Kane said. “I’d be more worried if we were walking around here all smiles, happy and everything’s okay. I think it’s good to get a little frustrated as long as you harness it in the right way.

“Frustration can create a lot of positive energy as well, whether it’s practicicing like you play, or just playing harder tomorrow.”

Both Chiarot and Raymond have been struggling during this six-game Detroit skid. Each player is minus-10 over that span.

Red Wings Need To Refocus

The Red Wings are playing three of their next four games at home, beginning with a Thursday date with the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona beat Detroit 4-0 last week at Mullett Arena.

Saturday, there’s a reunion with the Buffalo Sabres. On Tuesday in Buffalo, the Red Wings were given a 7-3 throttling.

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Detroit Red Wings on 2024-03-12:#LGRW #RedWings pic.twitter.com/3C4o8BaIwm

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) March 13, 2024

Detroit forward David Perron, like Kane a veteran of the hockey wars, also felt that the sight of two of his teammates scrapping was an indication that the Red Wings want to find a way to get back to their winning ways.

“We saw the intensity this morning in practice,” Perron said. “I think that’s great to see. Guys want to have solutions, they want to be part of it.
“I’m excited for tomorrow. It’s an exciting challenge to come to the rink and find a way to turn it around.“

The post Tempers Flare at Red Wings Practice appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

When the Detroit Red Wings play in Chicago on Sunday, they’ll be on hand to see the Blackhawks retire the No. 7 jersey worn by Chris Chelios.

Many of the Detroit players are more likely to remember Chelios from his tenure with the Red Wings from 1999-2009. But only Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot will be able to recollect on that time when he and Hall of Famer Chelios were playing for the same team.

“You want to hear something crazy?” Chiarot asked. “I was teammates with Chris Chelios.”

Chris Chelios talks about what's been on his mind as his jersey retirement is less than 48 hours away pic.twitter.com/stL5QSwGkr

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 24, 2024

The two teamed up briefly with the AHL Chicago Wolves in 2009-10. Chairot was 18 and Chelios was 47.

“He was signed with Atlanta and he was going back and forth between Chicago Wolves and Atlanta for a bit,” Chiarot explained. “The Chicago Wolves was Atlanta’s farm team. I was an Atlanta pick.

“My junior season ends. I got up to the Chicago Wolves and a 47 year old Chris Chelios was on the team. And I was there with him.”

Chiarot, Evander Kane of the Edmonton Oilers and Zach Bogosian of the Minnesota Wild are the only active NHLers who were teammates of Chelios.

It all still seems surreal to Chiarot.

“It was unreal,” he said. “He was super nice. Jacked, shredded like awesome. I was in the room with Cheli, working out with him, practicing with him. He’d have his helmet on up around the back of his head. It was unbelievable. Crazy.”

Chelios Offers Helping Hand To Chiarot

Despite his stature in the game, the former Norris Trophy winner willingly lent his years of experience in helping the younger players grow their games.

“He was super nice,” Chiarot said. Chelios was also in charge.

“He ran the room,” Chiarot said. “We’d have team dinners and he’d be sitting there with the owners and the coaches. He was pretty cool.”

BEN CHIAROT WITH THE OVERTIME HEROICS!

Chiarot goes five-hole for the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner! pic.twitter.com/2ySMJHZ4ol

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 19, 2024

Chiarot saw action in one game for the Wolves that season, in part thanks to Chelios.

“I got to play my first pro game, because Cheli got sent down from Atlanta and instead of going right to Chicago to play the last game of the season, he came back to Detroit to see his family. So I played against the Grand Rapids Griffins.”

Chiarot doesn’t plan to seek out his old teammate and offer congratulations on Sunday.

“I don’t know if he’d rememmber me,” Chiarot said. “It was a really short time. And I’m sure he’s got a million other people to see (on Sunday).”

The post Red Wings Chiarot, Chelios Are Old Teammates appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

When it comes to dangerous performers on the Detroit Red Wings, unless you’re an opposition puck carrier, it’s unlikely that you’d be including defenseman Ben Chiarot on that list.

Suddenly, though, Chiarot is turning into an offensive threat for the club.

He drew an assist on Thursday’s overtime winner by Patrick Kane as the Red Wings were edging the Colorado Avalanche 2-1. That point came on the heels of Chiarot’s OT-winning goal on Monday at Seattle to beat the Kraken 4-3.

“He’s been a little bit of an overtime assassin,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said of Chiarot. “That’s what he’s calling himself in the room.”

A thing of beauty. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Nm0P3157zl

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 23, 2024

His teammates were affixing a different handle to the veteran defenseman.

“OT Benny, the boys are calling him,” Red Wings coach Darren Lalonde said. “Benny’s had a really good season up to this date. His game has really elevated. He’s been good all year.

“So a little confidence in overtime, it doesn’t surprise me. He’s playing at a pretty high level.”

It isn’t the style of hockey the Red Wings are accustomed to seeing from the stalwart Chiarot.

“He’s a little bit of a more steady, behind the scenes defenseman,” Larkin said. “He blocks shots, he plays hard, he defends teammates. When you see a guy like that making big plays, it gives you a huge boost.”

Another Red Wings Comeback

Going into the third period Thursday down 1-0, the Wings came back to win yet again when trailing after two periods. That’s eight wins from that scenario, tied with the Avalanche for the NHL lead. Detroit’s 18 points (8-14-2) when trailing after two periods is an NHL high.

Mood pic.twitter.com/3MSdL8fO2a

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 23, 2024

“Not chasing it,” Lalonde lists as the key to the rallies. “I think we stick to our game. We don’t need to chase the extra goal. It’s gonna come if we do things correct.

“The extra goal or two goals. I think our guys have done a pretty good job with that. A little step in our maturity as a group.”

Ice Chips

Forward Matt Luff, out all season due to injury, was activated by Detroit and given assignment to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins . . . Detroit’s seven OT wins are tied for second in the NHL . . .Red Wings forward Patrick Kane is riding a six-game points streak.

The post Red Wings Notebook: Overtime Assassin Strikes Again appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The talk around the NHL is about the March 8 trade deadline. But the Detroit Red Wings probably feel like good health will help them in their playoff push as much as a big trade will.

The Red Wings are coming out of their eight-day break with right wing Patrick Kane, defenseman Ben Chiarot and goalie Ville Husso returning to the lineup after an extended absence due to injury. Husso has been sidelined since Dec. 18. Kane has been out since Jan. 14, while Chiarot has been gone since Jan 19. All three should be in the lineup Saturday when the Red Wings play No. 1-ranked Vancouver Canucks at Little Caesars Arena.

“We’re going to have some tough decisions for scratches,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “But that’s all part of it. Those are good problems to have. You saw us in December, had trouble fielding a lineup with how many guys we had out. Good timing on being healthy.”

Staying healthy will be vital to making the playoffs. Kane’s ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone, and then control it in the offensive zone will be critical. The 232-pound Chiarot serves a shutdown role and is crucial to the penalty kill.

“You want to push. It’s a constant battle of attrition,” Lalonde said.

Lyon Starts Saturday

Lalonde said he thought he would play Alex Lyon Saturday, but he hasn’t figured out how Husso will be worked in. He was the No. 1 goalie at the start of the season, but Lyon’s strong work played a big role in Detroit’s 9-2-2 in January. The Red Wings aren’t eager to give him too many games off.

The Detroit mission is to avoid being sluggish in their first game back. The Canucks have played two games this week.

“That’s a challenge,” Lalonde said. “You can do the best you can with two practices to replicate game speed but it’s going to be hard. We’ll be at a disadvantage. But it’s all part of it. The schedule is not perfect. That’s an impossible matrix. You get the bad end of some things. You get the good end.”

Happy to be back.

See you Saturday » https://t.co/vDeexERRNZ pic.twitter.com/sd2IzIqZ9R

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 8, 2024

Lalonde has lineup decisions to make going into their first game. The lines and defensive pairings will be adjusted.

There’s a hope that a fresh Kane can add another layer of danger to the offense.

“He exceeded such expectations when he came back (this season),” Lalonde said. “One, how healthy he was and his level of play. He has a high standard for himself. I just really appreciate where he started to take some ownership, some intensity within the group, some leadership, which I thought was great. He was doing some things defensively within his game to pitch in on our team play. Hopefully can get right back up the pace as soon as possible.”

The post Red Wings Are Healthy For Their Playoff Push appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Detroit Red Wings are looking at Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers as a critical contest and no reinforcements are coming to help them play it.

Patrick Kane (lower body injury) skated Wednesday for the first time in 10 days, but he hasn’t been cleared for contact. Defenseman Ben Chiarot (upper body) isn’t yet close.

“(Kane) skated pre-practice, participated in the warm-up drill and then no contact,” Lalonde said. “So I think a positive step for him. Get a better feel on how he feels today. Kind of in that gray area. Does it make sense for that last game or two before the break or give him the eight days after the break. So, we’ll have a better feel when we see how his body felt after today.”

Chiarot May Not Play Until After Break

Chiarot left Friday’s road game against Carolina because of an injury that has been bothering him for a while. He has not practiced.

“It’s becoming more and more likely probably post-break,” Lalonde said. “Might just give him the time to heal completely. Still potential for one of the last two games. Same gray area as Patty, whether it makes sense to play him in the last game or two or take full advantage of the time off we’ll have from the All-Star break.”

Patrick Kane in first practice in close to 2 weeks. #RedWings pic.twitter.com/ZIwP23nXeU

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 24, 2024

After playing Philadelphia, the Red Wings play Vegas Saturday and then Ottawa Wednesday.  They are then off for 10 days for the All-Star and annual team break.

Kane’s loss impacts the team’s power play, although the Red Wings did score three power play goals Tuesday during a 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars. Chiarot, meanwhile, is one of the team’s top penalty-killers.

“It’s a credit to Ben Chiarot, how much we’ve missed him over two games, that’s where his game was at,” Lalonde said. “The way he was playing, that was probably one injury we wanted to try to avoid. It’s on the rest of our group to pick up their game.”

J.T. Compher is fighting the flu bug (day to day), but he’s expected to play against the Flyers.

Lyon vs. Flyers

This game is important because the Red Wings don’t want to lose the momentum achieved by an 8-2-1 run. If they lose to Philadelphia, they are 1-3 in their last four games. The Flyers shut out the Red Wings 1-0 on Dec. 16 in Philadelphia and then lost to the Red Wings 7-6 in a shootout in Detroit six days later.

Alex Lyon was pulled after two periods in the loss to Dallas, but he will get the start in goal for Detroit against the Flyers. Lalonde’s goalie decision wasn’t hard.

“The run he’s had, not his best last night,” Lalonde said. “Probably a little on our team play in the second, but he needed a breather in the third. Very comfortable going back with him.”

Lalonde also plans to keep Dylan Larkin with DeBrincat.

“We’ll start like that,” Lalonde said. “I liked it at the end (of Dallas game). Sometimes it’s matchups. Watching that game back, very disappointed we kind of let that game get away from us in the second but there’s some makeup of teams if they’re three of four lines deep, ability to score or create offense and are heavy, it creates some issues for us matchup-wise. I got back to that Tampa game. Everybody says why do you have so much success against Tampa. It’s a matchup thing, a depth thing.”

The post Chiarot, Kane Not Ready to Rejoin Red Wings; Lyon Back in Net appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

You’re awaiting an update on health of Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane.

According to Detroit coach Derek Lalonde, so are the Red Wings.

“Don’t really know more about Kaner,” Lalonde said Sunday morning. “Was supposed to see the doctor yesterday but we got in a little later than we expected and he’s going to see the doctor today.”

Derek Lalonde said Patrick Kane and Ben Chiarot will be out tonight. Kane will see the doctor today, so we’ll know more about his status tomorrow. #LGRW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) January 21, 2024

Kane was the victim of a lower-body injury early into the game during Detroit’s win at Toronto a week ago. He’s missed the past two games. The team is indicating that this injury is not at all related to the hip resurfacing surgery Kane underwent last year.

Defenseman Ben Chiarot, who left Friday’s loss at Carolina due to an upper-body injury, also won’t be playing Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena.

“Both out for today,” Lalonde confirmed of Kane and Chiarot.

Red Wings Goalie Husso Progressing

There was much more optimistic news on the status of goaltender Ville Husso. He’s been absent the past 14 games after suffering a lower-body injury in a Dec. 18 home game against the Anaheim Ducks.

“He’s getting close,” Lalonde said. “We hope to have him potentially cleared for a full practice maybe within the week.

“He’s probably in a day to day to get cleared range and then we’d see about practices how he looks. So he’s inching a little closer.”

Goaltender Ville Husso, who has been out of action since last month, gives us an update on his recovery process.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/lQEVtryIqk

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) January 18, 2024

In Husso’s absence, Alex Lyon has gone 6-2-1 in the Detroit net. Lyon began the season as the club’s third-choice netminder.

“Alex is playing at a high level but James (Reimer) gave us an unbelievable road game in Toronto,” Lalonde said. The victory against his old team was the first former Maple Leafs netminder Reimer had posted for the Red Wings since Dec. 22.

Husso was 6-4-2 in his last 12 decisions prior to his injury.

The post Status of Red Wings Kane Still Uncertain; Husso Nears Return appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Defenseman Ben Chiarot is maintaining optimism that a little bit of California sunshine might be just what the doctor ordered to clear away the gloom that’s clouding the season for the Detroit Red Wings.

“I think heading out on the road will be good for us, getting the team together,” Chiarot said. “We’ll look to build momentum out in California.”

Benny. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/88LDyAXEkz

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 31, 2023

The Mamas & The Papas were California Dreamin’, while the Beach Boys clutched tightly to a perennial California Feelin’. However, anticipating that there’s gold waiting for the Wings in the Golden State as they open a three-game set Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks just might be a reach.

It’s been quite some time since the three-game California gauntlet – San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles – has brought a wealth of success to Detroit.

The Red Wings haven’t come back from a California trip with a winning slate since the 2015-16 season (2-1). That was also the last season in which the club qualified for postseason play.

Over that time period, Detroit has managed to tread water on the road against the Sharks (3-3-2) and Ducks (2-2-4), but Los Angeles has proven to be a vast wasteland for the Red Wings. They are 1-6-1 in their last eight away games facing the Kings. Detroit’s last win in LA was a 4-0 shutout triumph on Jan. 5, 2017.

Last season, the Red Wings managed to go 1-1-1 on their California trip. They lost 4-3 at LA, and were beaten 3-2 in OT at Anaheim. A 7-4 win at San Jose gave them a split of the points. It was the first time since 2019 that Detroit had posted a win on the California trip.

Defensive Concerns Still There For Red Wings

Detroit was better without the puck in Sunday’s 5-3 home-ice loss to the Boston Bruins, but it would be a stretch to suggest that the Red Wings were sound defensively.

“Looking back on the game, we easily could have won that game,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. Instead, the Red Wings did just enough wrong to get themselves beat. With a 3-8-1 slate over the past 12 games, they sit three points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with four teams – Tampa Bay, Washington, New Jersey and Pittsburgh – that Detroit must climb over to regain that postseason position.

The Chuckie connection. pic.twitter.com/skd1f8MMV4

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 1, 2024

“It’s just a little bit of attention to details,” Chiarot said. “Knowing that you got your guy in our zone, or that there’s five guys in front of you if you’re a defenseman. Whatever the case is, just knowing that you’re in a sound defensive position.

“Just a little more attention to detail I think would be helpful as far as being a stronger defensive team.”

The Red Wings recalled veteran forward Zach Aston-Reese from the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins to join them on this trip.

The post West Coast Generally Unkind to Red Wings appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.