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A final home opener at Joe Louis Arena, and the Wings need to be better

Tampa Bay Lightning v Detroit Red Wings - Game Six

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 27: Fans watch the pre game show prior to Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Joe Louis Arena on April 27, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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Granted, they were against two tough opponents, but the first two games of the season did little to arrest the pessimism surrounding the Red Wings.

Tonight in Detroit, the Wings will play their final home opener at Joe Louis Arena, and they’ll do it coming off back-to-back losses in Florida.

“We don’t worry about external expectations, our expectations are extremely high,” head coach Jeff Blashill said, per MLive. “Right now, we haven’t lived up to those expectations in two games. But the good thing is we get to work on Monday morning and get ready for Monday night.”

The Wings lost 6-4 in Tampa Bay on Thursday and 4-1 in Sunrise two days later. Combined, they were outshot 74-54 by the Lightning and Panthers. They host undefeated Ottawa tonight.

“It’s early in the year and we’re trying to do the right thing but we’re not really connected right now,” veteran forward Henrik Zetterberg told reporters Saturday.

The Red Wings have not missed the playoffs since 1990, but it would not be a huge surprise if that streak ended in 2016-17. Detroit has some promising, young forwards and a good, young goalie in Petr Mrazek, but its core is aging and increasingly broken down, and Pavel Datsyuk isn’t a part of it anymore.

The Wings will move into a new arena next year, after a great run at The Joe that included four Stanley Cup-winning seasons. Their final regular-season game at the old rink is set for Apr. 9 against New Jersey. Don’t stop believing, Wings fans, but remains to be seen if there will be playoff hockey after that.