The Detroit Red Wings’ trip overseas is complete, and their participation in the 2023-24 NHL Global Series has come and gone. They played two games against divisional rivals in Stockholm, and the results were less than exciting, to say the least.
The Detroit Red Wings faced off against the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs organizations. The Red Wings had a chance to walk away with four points to add to their season total, which would require back-to-back wins.
Ultimately, the Red Wings flew home with just one point to their credit. It’s utterly disappointing for the Red Wings. There were some positives to take from it, and we’ll get to that, but it was tough to see the Red Wings go to Sweden and struggle to come away with anything more than an overtime loss.
While the Red Wings’ efforts to even force overtime and earn that one point are worth something, coming away with just the one point is frustrating. The results were less than ideal, and now the Red Wings have an uphill climb as the season continues.
Detroit Red Wings trip to Sweden yields minimal results.
The Red Wings fell in overtime to Ottawa after the Senators scored a great goal. You have to give it to Tim Stützle, who showed off his hand-eye coordination on his baseball swing to connect with the puck for the game-winning goal.
Detroit earned a point, and their comeback efforts are worth noting. They battled back from a 4-0 deficit and fought hard to get back in the game, but frankly, after some soft goals early on, they should have never been in that position in the first place.
Especially after the Red Wings were able to get ahead in Friday’s game, the Red Wings and Maple Leafs were scoreless after one period. Detroit scored first, but then the collapse came in the third period. Detroit allowed Toronto to sneak right back into the game.
Indeed, there are many concerns about the team’s play. Defensive zone efforts were shotty. The goaltending has been problematic, though Alex Lyon looked good after getting his first chance to play for the Red Wings during the trip to Sweden.
On top of that, Detroit’s inconsistency in play has caused them some issues. Whether it is the inability to start or issues holding on late in games, it feels like the team continues to have some problems compared to the team they were when they arrived.
But, instead of being a Negative Nancy, let’s discuss some positives.
Detroit Red Wings had minimal positives from the trip to Sweden.
One thing that comes to mind is that the offense still showed up. They may have fallen short at times, but it’s not like opposing teams are blanking the Red Wings. In fact, Lucas Raymond may have caught a little bit of a scoring fever. Raymond scored twice in front of his family in Sweden, and hopefully, he can carry that back home and continue to score.
Lyon surely deserved a stick tap for how he played on Friday. Sure, he allowed three goals, but Lyon was on the ice for the first time in the 2023-24 season. He played well and made some big stops, so he may have carved out some more playing time with the start he had.
The Red Wings will be back in action ahead of Thanksgiving when they will begin playing games that will take them through the rest of the season. Hopefully, they can adjust and get back on the ice looking to drum up more wins.