Saturday night, the Detroit Red Wings lost their fifth game in a row with a lifeless 3-0 loss against the Calgary Flames.
Let’s extract eight observations from the latest loss from the Red Wings.
#1: Different formula, same result. Well, at least Detroit’s opponent didn’t scored more than five goals – right? Well, they still lost. Finally, the goaltending seemed to stabilize a bit, but the offense went cold. In recent weeks, most losses have included plenty of scoring. This was not the case against Calgary.
#2: Defense wasn’t great. Shocker: the defense wasn’t great. This has been the trend this year, and not much changed against the Flames.
#3: Offense went ice cold. Perhaps the most confusing part of Detroit’s performance was how bad the offense looked. The Red Wings have not been shut out since January 13 against the Winnipeg Jets. Fans are used to the lacking defense, but the offensive showing was a real cause for concern.
#4: Chemistry was notably lacking. The Red Wings have had an odd couple of days – Jakub Vrana finally made his debut for the 2021-22 season, while Robby Fabbri suffered what looks to be a season ending injury. The lineup sheet went to the blender, and head coach Jeff Blashill deployed the players slightly different lines. It didn’t work.
#5: Greiss was solid. Perhaps the only positive from the loss was Greiss in between the pipes. He had a strong night, singlehandedly keeping the game within reach for Detroit. Greiss finished the night with a .930 save percentage. Especially in the first two periods, a majority of the game was played in the Red Wings offensive zone, with the Flames launching attack after attack. Detroit has had suspect goaltending for a few weeks now, so it’s comforting to see Greiss start to step up his game (especially with how Alex Nedeljkovic has played of late).
#6: Losing streak. The Red Wings are on a five-game losing streak. The team has been able to hover around .500 for a majority of the season, but the wheels seem to finally be coming off.
#7: Playoff hopes are dead. In all honestly, the post-season has been a long shot for quite some time now, but with the losing streak and more trouble ahead, Detroit is starting to fall way behind in the race. It was fun while it lasted, but all hope should be swept away.
#8: Road trip kicks of terribly. Things don’t usually go well for the Red Wings when they take a road trip to the west. And based on their performance against the Flames, it looks as though this four-game slate on the west coast won’t go so well either. The Red Wings will have to look significantly more lively if they have any hope at nabbing points on the road trip.