The Detroit Red Wings have thrived since the beginning of the month. They’ll try to keep the good December vibes going when they host Dallas on Tuesday night.
Detroit entered the month with a mediocre 13-11-2 record. Despite a six-game road trip in the first two weeks of December, the Red Wings have gone 8-2-1 since then and have moved to the top of the Atlantic Division.
They collected back-to-back victories over Washington this past weekend. Following a 5-2 road victory Saturday afternoon, the Red Wings pulled out a 3-2 overtime home win Sunday, with defenseman Moritz Seider scoring the game-winner.
“It’s tough to beat the same team twice like that,” goaltender Cam Talbot said. “We did it two different ways. (Saturday) we came out hard and established our game right off the bat. (Sunday) we had to weather the storm and battled our way through to the end. You have to find different ways to win in this league.”
Detroit has gotten a boost from recent American Hockey League callup John Leonard. With Patrick Kane sidelined by an upper-body injury, Leonard scored in both games against the Capitals.
“Any time a player comes up, you hope he can have an impact, and especially like how he’s been playing like that in Grand Rapids,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He does have some experience, he’s played in the league (NHL) before, so it’s not like a whole bunch of nerves. He can settle in and use his tool set. He’s been real good since he’s been up here.”
Kane will miss his fifth consecutive game Tuesday when Detroit faces the Stars for the first time this season.
Dallas has also been red-hot, going 12-2-1 over its last 15 games. The Stars are riding a four-game winning streak, including a 5-1 victory over Toronto on Sunday. They have outscored their opponents 22-8 during that span.
Dallas was clinging to a 1-0 lead entering the third against the Maple Leafs before their offense caught fire. Goaltender Jake Oettinger made 27 saves.
“You never want to waste a goalie performance like that,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “But I thought we were good in the first. I thought in the first we were pretty good, had some chances, and then I think we got a little loose and out of rhythm and Jake had to save us in the second. I thought the second was poor, one of our poorer periods, and that’s when Jake held the fort and made some saves.”
The Stars have just seven regulation losses this season, the second fewest in the league behind only Colorado.
“We’ve found different ways to win every night,’ Oettinger said. “Whether it’s goaltending, power play, individual guys having huge nights, full 60-minute efforts, it’s taken a little bit of everything, and it feels like every night we have different guys stepping up, and it just goes to show the depth of our team.”
Mikko Rantanen (49 points), Jason Robertson (44) and Wyatt Johnston (41) are the club’s top scorers.
–Field Level Media
