For the first time this season, the Red Wings have won three consecutive road games.

The Detroit Red Wings won 4-3 in the Scotiabank Saddledome Wednesday night entering the back half of their six game road trip. John Gibson and the Red Wings came to Calgary tonight having secured 5 of the 6 possible points so far on this road trip with two wins in a row. Tonight’s game saw the Red Wings dominate the first two periods of play against the Flames, however, a penalty shot goal halfway through the final period saw the team nearly squander a 4-0 lead, and one of John Gibson’s better games in red and white.

Staying Hot

Alex DeBrincat opened up scoring early with a goal just barely a minute into the game on a feed from Patrick Kane. The two are now back on top of the NHL’s list for most points between an American-born pair and are probaly Detroit’s most dangerous wingers right now. Axel Sandin-Pellikka got Detroit up 2-0 before the 15 minute mark of the game. The young defenseman has at least 1 point in every game of this road trip so far. Sandin-Pellikka, who has started to look more and more like the player that set the SHL record for points and goals by a junior, has been playing well no matter who he’s on the ice with, but has had his fingerprints all over a few goals with DeBrincat and Kane in the last few games.

Detroit made it 3-0 when DeBrincat got his second goal of the night in the second period off a setup from Andrew Copp. Copp has been centering Detroit’s second line of late and has been providing a disruptive presence in opposing team’s zones, digging the puck out and getting it to his linemates in the right place, with points in the last two games. Dylan Larkin scored what would be the ultimate game decider when the Red Wings went up 4-0 just with 10:51 left in the second period. However, Calgary would dominate the second half of the game.

Flash in the Pan?

Detroit entered the night red hot with two consecutive wins and Gibson‘s first shutout for the Red Wings. Up until the near the second half of the third period, it looked like he may have gotten his second in as many games. However, after going on the power play halfway through the third period, Axel Sandin-Pellikka held Joel Farabee on a shorthanded chance, leading to a penalty shot and the Flames first goal of the night with 11:58 to play. Matt Coronato made it 4-2 with 10:53 left. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, MacKenzie Weegar sniped one in to make it a game at 4-3.

One of the biggest problems with this Red Wings team, not only this season, but over the past several years has been Detroit’s inability to play consistent winning hockey.

In an interview with reporters on FanDuel Sports Network postgame, said Coach McLellan, “Some of our game management skills came into question again… Again I’ll say it, we’re happy we won that game, we need the points,- But we got things we got to polish up and I don’t think our team is skating well right now.”

Every winning streak  the Wings have seems to have a matching losing streak, and the team has repeatedly fallen apart in March to miss the playoffs. Tonight saw the Red Wings enter with the chance to prove that that kind of streakiness was behind them. They very nearly proved the opposite after letting off the gas and allowing the Flames to get back in a game that they had been dominating in every aspect from goaltending to puck possession