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Detroit Red Wings fans may want to circle these three dates for the Atlantic Division team’s upcoming schedule, as these post-Thanksgiving games will prove to be important.
The Original Six team, the Detroit Red Wings, is a juggernaut in the Atlantic Division this season.
The keyword being is, if they can find their consistency again after giving up six points to the Nashville Predators in a 6-3 loss.
In the upcoming weeks, the team will have important matchups, and two of those will be within their own division.
Following Thanksgiving, the team will need to find its consistency again, if it’s to regain ground lost.
The two will face off against two of their better divisional foes and will need to earn every point and play with urgency as the race is tight in the Atlantic.
November 28th Vs. The Tampa Bay Lightning: Red Wings fans may want to look away
The Tampa Bay Lightning have turned their game around recently and become the Red Wings’ closest foes as they will battle it out for first place in the Division.
The Lightning have found their scoring touch again, scoring 69 goals and keeping the number of goals allowed at 60.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been the reason they’ve been so successful with a 2.36 GAA and a .911 save percentage. He’s earned a shutout this season, too.
The Lightning have flipped their switch again, and Jon Cooper is leading the hottest team in the NHL at the moment. After winning one in seven, they’ve gone 12-3 in their last stretch and scored 51 points, and allowed only 36 points.
Patrick Kane suffered his injury against the Lightning and could have scored to settle that night.November 29th Vs. The Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins began the new season with Head Coach Marco Sturm in a manner that made them seem like they were going to be a doormat for the Atlantic.
Now, they’ve found themselves competing for a playoff spot, with players like David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie leading the team in scoring. The Bruins, like the Lightning, have been lighting up the NHL with 74 goals scored.
Geekie has found his scoring touch with a 26.2% shooting percentage, which the Red Wings will need to stifle if they’re to come out on top that night.
Jeremy Swayman is bouncing back from his pitiful performance last season and is becoming the player they signed to a nice $8.25 million AAV (average annual value) contract. The veteran goaltender has a 2.79 GAA (goals against average) and a .909 save percentage.
With these two games being back-to-back, the Red Wings will have to dig deep to find their A-game to piece together two wins in a row.
December 10th Vs. The Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames will be hungry when they play against the Red Wings, as the Pacific Division team has only 19 points to their name, 29th in the NHL, and has scored only 57 goals.
While the team looks to be an easy win for the Red Wings, the inconsistency lately has given us pause, as the Flames could push back and pull off a surprise victory.
The Red Wings this season have played poorly against weak teams, including the Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But for the Red Wings themselves, they’ll need to find a way to keep the games exciting, forecheck hard against their rivals, and stay steady against opponents like the Flames, who have something to prove.
Previously on Red Wings Insider