At the turn of the New Year, the Detroit Red Wings are leading the Atlantic division in a tight race for the first time in years. Despite a rocky start through the first two months of the season the Red Wings have had a red-hot December.
Even as the recent snowstorms that have blown through the mitten have dropped things below freezing, the Red Wings just about haven’t stopped winning. After their New Years Eve matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, the Red Wings carry a record of 11-3-1.
Aside from the Colorado Avalanche, it’s hard to find a team that looked better this past month. Going into January then, it’s the perfect time to predict what a New Year, and a potentially new Red Wings team, could bring.
Sebastian Cossa gets the call up
Sebastian Cossa has been leading the Grand Rapids Griffins on a historic run in the AHL, and he collected his fourth shutout so far this season on Dec. 27. The Griffins also reassigned Carter Gylander to the Toledo Walleye, signaling that Michal Postava may be ready to return to the lineup. in Grand Rapids. The Griffins unfortunately lost their third game of the season on New Year's Eve, but still find themselves as far and away the best team in the AHL.
If Gylander is called back to the AHL at any point this next month, it should be taken as a sign that Cossa is being given the chance to prove that that open roster spot in Detroit belongs to him. The start of the new year would be the perfect time to bring in the netminder, especially if the Red Wings are already rolling.
Right now the Red Wings have been riding the hot hand of John Gibson, who had the club’s longest winning streak in nearly 20 years this last month when he won 8 in a row for the team for the first time since Chris Osgood was still playing for the team.
On the flip side, Cam Talbot had a rough month in net, appearing in only five games with a 2-3 record and 3.10 GAA. Those numbers are heavily skewed by the fact that he opened the month with three losses in which the opposing team had four or more goals in each game, but Talbot is not getting any younger, and has taken a clear backseat as Gibson has established himself in Detroit.
If the Red Wings need a spark in net, Cossa could be just what the doctor ordered.
Lucas Raymond overtakes team lead in goals
Lucas Raymond is having a quieter year than some would have expected, at least on the media side of things. Though. he still leads the team in points with 43 in just 39 games played. At the moment, surprisingly, only 11 of those are goals. The young Swedish winger hasn’t found the net directly as often this year, but with 32 assists, he leads the team and has been helping to generate offense all over the ice.
Right now Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat are one-two in goals with 21 and 20, though interestingly both had much of their production came over one-month spans. The Red Wings missed Raymond for some of October after what looked to be a shoulder injury suffered in their game against Toronto.
Since the beginning of December, Raymond’s played at over a point-per-game pace, including a three assist night against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 23. It would be a personal best in goals scored in a month in the last two seasons as well for him. However, with the incredible season the Red Wings are having up adnd down the lineup, it feels like Raymond is the next player to step up.
He would need to basically double his goal scoring production through the first two months of the season, but given how well he has been doing as the set-up man, Raymond should be seeing more production between the top line and the power play over this next month.
Red Wings finish their second straight month over 0.500
The Red Wings took their post-Christmas coaching change into January last year and had a 10-3-1 record under then-new bench boss Todd McLellan for their first month. Then things got dicey as they cooled off in February with a 5-7-1 record, and slumped forward into March by going 4-10-0.
The Red Wings have struggled to post back-to-back winning months over the past several years, with this past November being a prime example. Their schedule to open the month is crowded, with five games in the first 10 days of the year, including the second game of a back-to-back on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
While the front half of the schedule with games against the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators isn’t as difficult on paper as the back half of the month with games against the LA Kings and Colorado Avalanche, the Red Wings can’t afford to slip up in a crowded Atlantic division.
There’s only a 10-point gap between the Red Wings (51) at the top and the Sens (41) at the bottom of the standings as of this writing.
The Red Wings have the tools, and the improving roster, to keep themselves above water. But with games against juggernauts like the Avalanche and Wild late in the month and a rematch with the Hurricanes, who just trounced the Red Wings near the season's midpoint, it’s hard to see a clear path ahead to a winning record in January.