The Detroit Red Wings went to Sweden this year for a stretch of games. When the team went overseas, captain Dylan Larkin made it clear that he was not thrilled about what this meant for the season. He expressed some angst about it being in the middle of the season, leading to some struggles with the Red Wings level of play after the lengthy travel.
While the Detroit Red Wings going overseas to play in Sweden for this year's NHL Global Series was a great thing for the organization and the sport itself, there are some drawbacks to this year. But the organization should be happy with how things went off the ice within the community, seeing so many Red Wings fans overseas.
However, on the other side of things, it was a lot of travel going on. They had some off days/rest days on both sides of the trip overseas, which was a plus for the Red Wings at the moment. However, captain Dylan Larkin made it clear that he was worried about the jet lag and the lasting effects of a tired Red Wings organization.
Now that the Red Wings have seen the Sweden trip come and go, Larkin's worries are coming to fruition. The team had some serious issues with their level of play leading up to the holidays. Even though they grabbed a shootout win against the Flyers, the Red Wings have a 2-7-1 record in their last ten match-ups.
Dylan Larkin predicted Detroit Red Wings skid post-Sweden trip.
The team has been on a really rough skid, but, there's still hope that something can change as the Red Wings head into the new year. But maybe Larkin was right, and the team's trip to Sweden after they returned was detrimental to the team's performance. It has not been pretty between some holes in the forward core, goaltending injuries, and even some fatigued defensive play.
Detroit Hockey Now's Kevin Allen pulled some quotes in a recent piece about Larkin's "prophecy" coming true as he phrased it. But after reading Allen's piece, it really did open my eyes to what Larkin said and then the issues this team has had as of late. For Detroit, this has not been the smoothest month, and their trip to December may have played a factor.
As mentioned, goaltending has been a problem, and injuries did not help that. However, Ville Husso never really proved that he was going to be durable between the pipes this year; even with some wins under his belt, his numbers were not great. The injuries only add to the struggles.
But overall, the Red Wings are in quite the downward turn. However, there's still hope that the Red Wings can get back on track. January is a new month, and Detroit may be able to right the ship.