Give the Detroit Red Wings credit for marching into St. Louis and upending the lowly Blues on Oct. 28. At least they can more than get the best of completely demoralized teams.
But wow, that California leg of the road trip was brutal, with the Wings taking two out of three, but winning two shootouts in the process against the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. That middle game against the Anaheim Ducks was forgettable, but overall, it shows that the Wings are living on the edge when on the road.
The Wings are 4-3 on the road, and three of those games, including their win in Toronto earlier in the season, could have gone either way. So, how do the Wings break this spell while keeping up their high-octane pace at Little Caesars Arena, where they're 5-1? That's a question they must figure out the answer to.
Narrow wins on the road isn't sustainable
You take a win any which way they come, but in the back of the mind, you can't help but ask yourself, "How long can they seriously keep this up?" Sure, the Wings will, at some point, face difficult outings at home and blow a few teams out on the road, but collectively, it's trending toward the Wings winning 25-plus in Detroit while veering closer to .500 when they visit opposing teams.
If the Wings won 25 games at Little Caesars and finished with 21 wins on the road, that would give them 46 wins and 92 points when you don't factor in any potential loser point. But at that rate, you would like to see a final tally of 46 wins, 28 losses, and 8 overtime losses to put them at the 100-point mark, which should give them a playoff berth.
At the rate the Wings are going, though, asking for eight loser points is a lot, so playing a better game on the road, especially against teams in transition like San Jose, is a must. Still, even throughout the pedestrian play on the road, four wins in opposing arenas and a 9-4-0 tally, good for 18 points, has this team trending north.
Detroit Red Wings must make a statement
The Red Wings close out this road trip on Nov. 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights, who, with 15 points, are looking to take control of the Pacific Division. This gives the Red Wings a chance not only to get in the way of the Evil Empire's hopes early in the season, but also to make that statement win against a great hockey team.
Should the Wings take it and win this thing by multiple goals, that'll be one heck of a momentum builder heading into their homestand starting on Nov. 7. A homestand that should include at least three wins.
As for the here and now, they need to focus on Vegas and end this five-game road trip with a 4-1 record. But instead of letting things go to a shootout or even overtime, jump on the Knights early and show the league you can blow out a good team on the road.