Detroit Red Wings saw highs and lows in 2023, must stick with the plan in 2024
This time of year usually brings about personal vows of change, but perhaps the Detroit Red Wings are on the right track, despite their recent woes.
The Wings would do well to heed the words of their coach, Derek Lalonde, whose demeanor has remained implacable whether winning or losing. He maintained on the penultimate day of 2023 the Wings haven't played noticeably worse of late, it just looks that way.
"It just seems like every mistake has ended up in the back of our net, but I am telling you, the underlying numbers have not been much different in the stretch of late than when we were winning," he said. "With that said, there were some issues with our game through that winning, too, so it’s a process of trying to complete our game."
The new year beckons the Wings to bear down and show they are serious about advancing to the NHL playoffs. They have had nearly half-a-season to learn how to manage their game better, as their coach likes to put it.
The year behind them is filled with progress and pain.
They have looked, at times, like they are going to end a seven-year absence from the playoffs; at other times, such as in December, they have regressed. Asked about December's 5-8-1 record, Alex DeBrincat pointed to playing 12 games in 23 days leading up to the Dec. 24-26 Christmas break.
"We didn’t get to practice much, a lot of travel," he said Saturday. "No excuses for it, but I think we got away from our game and we were playing a little bit lazy. We’ve got to get back to doing the little things right."
The Wings have made glaringly bad mistakes, like turnovers deep in their own zone.
"They just seemed costly," Andrew Copp said. "I mean, there was too many of them, but at the same time, it felt like they were massive ones. There’s mistakes that happen in the game all over the place, but it felt like they were all game-chancing ones, instead of little ones that can be made up for pretty easily.
"I think it starts with our game wasn’t as tight defensively as it had been, and we found ourselves in a lot of track meets and we can’t be that way. We have to play solid defensively. We have enough offense in here that we don’t have to force it any more. So it’s a combination of a lot of things and then when the train wasn’t going the right way, it was kind of tough to stop it and get it going in the right direction."
The Wings are heading into their traditional New Year's Eve game, this year against Atlantic Division rival the Boston Bruins, seeking to cap a challenging December with a celebration.
On the last day of 2023, here is a look back at the team's highs and lows.
Highs
Candy Kane: Signing Patrick Kane at the end of November was like being granted an early Christmas wish. While the Wings have gone 3-8-1 with the 35-year-old forward in the lineup, Kane has delivered 13 points, giving him a 1.08 points-per-game average in that 12-game span that is tied for best on the team with DeBrincat. Those two – be it with Dylan Larkin or J.T. Compher in the center – give the Wings a scoring punch they haven't had in a decade.
Patrick Kane: Detroit Red Wings were 'in my heart' as he decided on new team
Coming home: The Wings left the two-game Global Series in Stockholm with just one point, then had nearly a week to sulk about that. They responded by winning three in a row – including in Boston – delivering high-energy, sound-defense performances that need to be their identity.
Summer additions: There were so many of them – forwards Compher, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer and Klim Kostin; defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Jeff Petry and Justin Holl, and goaltenders James Reimer and Alex Lyon. The biggest of all was DeBrincat, now, 26, a two-time 40-goal scorer entering the prime of his career. Yzerman went into the summer saying the Wings needed to be able to score more, and the additions of DeBrincat, Sprong and Gostisbehere added a spark.
Winning spurts: The Wings began the season 5-1, racking up five straight victories after a couple errors cost them the season opener in New Jersey. When they played the Devils again on Thanksgiving eve, it was the start of a stretch where the Wings won six of seven games.
Lows
Scary incident: Larkin ended up missing only four games, but it was a scary sight when he was unconscious on the ice after being roughed up in the Dec. 9 game against the Ottawa Senators. Seeking to punish someone, David Perron went after the wrong player, and ended up with a six-game suspension.
Sagging lineup: For a stretch in December, the Wings were without their top two centers and a top-six winger, as Larkin and Compher overlapped being sidelined three games, and Larkin and Perron four games. Even with better depth this season, the Wings couldn't hide those absences.
Goaltending struggles: For the first two months it looked like carrying Ville Husso, Reimer and Lyon gave the Wings three dependable goaltenders. But then Husso and Reimer struggled, and then Lyon and Husso suffered injuries in consecutive games in mid-December. Lyon returned after the Christmas break, Husso remains out, and Reimer has continued to struggle.
Upheaval at the trade deadline: The Wings entered the week of Feb. 27 feeling good about themselves, having risen into a playoff spot on the strength of winning seven of eight games. Then they went to Ottawa. A 6-2 loss that Monday looked pretty bad, but paled when the Wings went out the next night and lost 6-1. Yzerman always was going to trade Tyler Bertuzzi once it became clear there was no common ground on a new contract for a player headed toward unrestricted free agency, but the trades came day-by-day that week. On Wednesday, March 1, it was defenseman Filip Hronek, on Thursday, Bertuzzi, by the end of the week, also Oskar Sundqvist and Jakub Vrana. The Wings lost five games that week, went 7-11-1 down the stretch, and were eliminated from playoff contention the last week of the season.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Helene's latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings saw highs & lows in '23, must stick with plan in '24
