I’ll be honest with you guys, I didn’t catch much hockey the past seven days. These west coast trips only get tougher as you get older, apparently. For that, I FEEL SHAME!
Anywho, the Red Wings still have a game left on this road trip, but are already bringing home six points thanks to wins in St. Louis, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Call it luck, call it grit… Call it whatever you want. I think we can all agree that last year’s early-season west coast trip pales in comparison to this one. That’s a big deal for this Red Wings team, because after tomorrow night’s game in Las Vegas, they will play nine home games over the next few weeks. Not bad for a team that is 5-1-0 at home this season.
Detroit kicked off the road trip with a solid 5-2 win over the Blues, largely thanks to Dylan Larkin’s three-point night. St. Louis opened the scoring less than a minute into the game, which was a bit deflating I won’t lie!!! But, Detroit would score the next four goals and pretty much put the Blues out of the race.
Going into a back-to-back on the west coast isn’t easy on any Eastern Conference team. My opinion is that as long as you can get out of California with a couple of points and everyone healthy, you did all right. Like I said before, didn’t get to watch much of the late games live, but I’m glad I missed that game against the Kings. I would have been up all night after that whirlwind. Watch the highlights for yourself.
Halloween was Leo Carlsson night, and like I said before — back-to-backs on the west coast aren’t easy. I know that Anaheim is a better team than a lot of people are led to believe, but Detroit’s power play sticks out (not in a good way!!!!). Hard to win games when your PP goes one for seven. Just the facts.
I thought Detroit played well yesterday in San Jose. Cam Talbot faced just 18 shots, yet the game got to a shootout. The Wings managed 31 shots on goal (14 in the 2nd period!!!) yet our old friend Alex Nedeljkovic played his pants off, stopping 29 of those shots. I really can’t get over Lucas Raymond’s goal in this game, mostly because you get to see Raymond go into “badass” mode but also you get a little taste of Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s mobility and vision.
Detroit would take this game in the shootout, with James van Riemsdyk the lone scorer.
Coming out of California with four of six possible points is a good thing. I keep reminding everyone how bad California was to us last season. Even if they can’t get two points in Vegas, this was a successful road trip for Detroit. Now the team can cozy up to their own barn for the next month, and perhaps get Patrick Kane back at some point. Will be a relatively light week for Detroit after Vegas. A couple of days off then games Friday and Sunday.
Have to mention what’s going on in Grand Rapids. The Griffins over the weekend extended their undefeated record to 8-0. That’s the best start by any AHL team since 2021. Grand Rapids has a wealth of talent in players like Amadeus Lombardi and Nate Danielson, plus the tandem of Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava have been lights out. Crazy good hockey in Grand Rapids right now. Check it out if you have the chance.
Next up on the Schedule
- Tues, Nov. 4: At Las Vegas (10:00 PM ET)
- Fri, Nov. 7: vs New York Rangers (7:00 PM ET)
- Sun, Nov. 9: vs Chicago (1:00 PM ET)
