3 reasons the Red Wings put the NHL on notice following an intriguing season

The Red Wings showed us they can and will score often

Sure, the Red Wings had their not-so-good moments this season, but wow, did they score at will, or what often during this memorable campaign? You can only wonder what Dylan Larkin would have finished the season with if he didn’t miss 14 games, so let’s do the math and adjust his 69 points in 68 contests across 82 games. You will get 83 points, and just for fun, let’s adjust his 33 goals to an 82-game stretch, and the product is between 39 and 40. 

Even with Larkin missing time, Detroit still finished the season with 278 goals or 3.39 per game. While a few teams still have another contest or two to go at the time of this writing, the current total was good for eighth in the NHL, meaning there is a good chance the Red Wings will finish the year with a top-10 scoring unit. 

Sure, opponents will know what to expect from Detroit offensively next season - just look at what happened to the Buffalo Sabres this year - but this team has more experience than their Atlantic Division rival. That said, the Red Wings have a greater chance not only to emulate what they did this past season but to parlay it.