Here’s an understatement: things haven’t been going well for the Detroit Red Wings lately.
With Saturday’s embarrassing 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Red Wings have now dropped four of their last five games. In that span, Detroit has been outscored 22-13.
For a team that once looked ahead of where head coach Mike Babcock expected it to be, this has to be a troubling sign. Then again, sometimes things have to get grim before they get better.
“Hopefully we’ve hit rock bottom,” Henrik Zetterberg said, according to the Detroit Free-Press’ Helene St. James.
Zetterberg hopes that it’s as bad as things get. Babcock labels the loss as “an exclamation point.”
Will things turn around soon? That remains to be seen.
They turn around and face the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Sunday. After that, it’s a mini-road run through Florida as they take on the Panthers on Thursday and the Lightning on Friday.
(Two back-to-backs, even spread pretty far apart, aren’t necessarily ideal.)
Really, the best chance for the Red Wings to really turn around may come starting next weekend. From March 22 - April 7, eight of 10 Red Wings games take place at home.
Is that a guarantee that Detroit will rebound in late March, or that they can’t start getting it together starting tomorrow? Now, as we know with hockey, surprises could be around the corner. The Red Wings merely hope that they are positive ones.