The Detroit Red Wings are proving to the NHL universe that they are a terrible hockey team when playing on the road. So far, the Wings have played three games as the visitor, and have yet to play well.
Their best outing came on Oct 13 in a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The catch? Toronto outshot them 40-15, and if it wasn't for goaltender Cam Talbot's legendary play, the Wings wouldn't have won that game.
Heck, when opponents outshoot you nearly 3 to 1, you have no business beating them, so the Wings escaped that contest with the W. But, as it was on full display in Thursday night's blowout loss to the New York Islanders, they can't count on Talbot to bail them out every time they play bad hockey.
The Detroit Red Wings are an awful hockey team on the road
Following Wednesday night's 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in a game where they never looked like they found their groove, the Wings had a chance to redeem themselves on Thursday. Instead, they looked even worse, losing 7-2 and failing to respond to the Islanders' fast start.
Opponents outscored them 11-4 in this two-game road trip, so the Wings can consider themselves lucky that their next game is a home outing against their former heated division rival, the St. Louis Blues. Unfortunately for the Wings, that's their last home game of October and they won't play another one until Nov 7 when the New York Rangers skate into Hockeytown.
Red Wings need to get their act together quickly
The Red Wings may be handing their fans fools gold after that fast 5-1 start when everything looked like it was trending in the right direction. Now, at 5-3 and playing two straight games of uninspiring hockey, they're erasing that, and they're two losses away from completely erasing it.
If there's any good news, it's that the Blues have seen struggles of their own lately, unable to play consistent hockey since sneaking into the playoffs last April. So, Saturday's matchup is a good chance for the Wings to regroup and play like the team that jumped out to that 5-1 start.
But if they don't, the rest of October will get ugly. And if that's the case, you might want to make some backup plans for April 2026 if you thought the Wings were on the path to the playoffs. It's time for every player in that locker room to hold one another accountable, and it's time for Todd McLellan to do a better job of holding this team accountable. Especially for those players who were on the ice for every other goal allowed on Thursday night.