Red Wings enduring growing pains in November

After winning three games to start November, the Red Wings struggled in week two, picking up only a single point in three games. The Red Wings started the week on Tuesday, losing a 3-2 shootout at home against Montreal. At Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, the Red Wings surrendered six goals in the third period in an 8-2 shellacking against the New York Rangers. On Saturday, the Red Wings started their swing through California with a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.

After Saturday’s loss in Los Angeles, the Red Wings now sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 7-5-3 record. The difficult week places the Red Wings in the middle of the NHL standings with 17 points.

Five Takeaways

• David Perron picked up his 400th career assist in Los Angeles on Saturday.
• Ville Husso is now 18th in GAA (2.54) in the NHL. Husso also has a SV% of .920, good for 17th in the NHL.
• Dominik Kubalik has taken over the lead in assists (11) and points (18) for the Red Wings.
• Kubalik also leads Detroit with nine power-play points.
• Filip Hronek leads all Detroit defensemen in assists (9) and points (10).
• Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with a +6 rating.
• Larkin also leads Detroit with 43 shots on goal in 15 games played.
• The Red Wings have 11 power-play goals in 15 games. The Red Wings success rate on the power-play is 19.3%, placing Detroit 21st overall.
• Detroit’s success rate on the penalty kill is 78.3%, good for 17th overall.
• Jonatan Berggren played his first NHL game on Thursday and picked up his first NHL point, an assist.
• Givani Smith was returned to Grand Rapids after the game against Montreal.
• Oskar Sundqvist and Robert Hagg currently have -6 ratings to negatively lead the Red Wings.

NOTES: 

After Saturday’s loss in Los Angeles, the Red Wings are 2-3-1 on the road, 27th overall in the NHL. …With 44 goals scored, Detroit currently sits 22nd overall in goals scored. …With 50 goals against this season, the Red Wings currently sit 21st overall in fewest goals against. …The Red Wings have a goals differential of -6 after 15 games. … With 17 points in the first 15 games, the Red Wings are on an early pace to collect 93 points on the season. …Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake Walman are expected to be back in the lineup this week.

The Week Ahead

The upcoming week for the Detroit Red Wings includes three road games in five days. The Red Wings will start the week playing on Tuesday in Anaheim against the Ducks. Game time is 10:00 PM ET at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Detroit will have one day off before they travel to San Jose to play the Sharks. Game time on Thursday is 10:30 PM ET at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. The final game of a week-long road trip concludes on Saturday in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Game time is 7:00 PM ET at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.