The Detroit Red Wings find themselves in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. Unfortunately, there is no sign of the franchise turning things around anytime soon.
On the final day of November, the Red Wings suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. There were general feelings of disgust and frustration throughout the locker room and numerous vows to come out fighting Saturday night. To the displeasure of everyone involved with the franchise, Detroit appeared to be all talk. The Red Wings came into the Bell Centre and put together another embarrassing effort, losing 10-1.
Jeff Blashill and Company Take Seventh Straight Loss
The Red Wings are now suffering through their longest losing streak of the season. The team has not won a game since November 17th against the Buffalo Sabres and have allowed four-plus goals in the last four games. Once a team in a playoff spot, Detroit continues to freefall down the standings and could be joining Buffalo at the bottom of the Atlantic Division soon.
It is hard to ignore how disgusted the players and coaches are at this point. Everyone knows the effort the team needs to put forth in order to be successful. They also know that what they’ve been bringing to the ice each night is uninspiring and unacceptable. In addition, it is becoming more and more clear that Jeff Blashill has run out of ideas to get this sinking ship back above water. In his postgame interview Saturday night, Blashill reassured the media that his team has bought into his message which completely contradicts what is being displayed in games. What we see on the ice each night is a Red Wings team playing uninspired hockey, not influenced by the leadership of their head coach.
When Will it End?
Losing is frustrating for everyone involved. The team obviously doesn’t like it and games become hard to watch for fans. Unfortunately, the current losing streak the Red Wings find themselves on could continue.
Detroit’s next two games are against two of the best teams in the Western Conference. First, they will host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Then, they will invite the St. Louis Blues into town for Saturday afternoon showdown. These two game could very well result in more losses and at this point, it’s hard to come up with any reason Detroit could pull out a win in either game.
The following week is full of Atlantic Division matchups. The Red Wings will take on the Panthers, Bruins, and Maple Leafs in a span of five days. Although Florida has had its struggles this season, they have been playing better hockey than Detroit lately and could give the Red Wings fits. Boston and Toronto, on the other hand, are both teams that have a good chance of making the playoffs this spring, especially the Leafs.
The fact is, it is hard to predict when the Red Wings will finally put an end to this losing streak. There are few teams that have played worse than Detroit recently, making the light at the end of the tunnel hard to find. Dark days may be a regularity for a franchise that has not had many in its recent history.
Main Photo via Getty Images
