Red Wings Head West on Unexpected Winning Streak

No matter which way you cut it, the start of the 2019-20 season has been tough for the Detroit Red Wings. They have already seen an eight-game losing streak, a plethora of blowout losses, and several players struggle out of the gate. When you couple those dispiriting details with an upcoming road trip out to California, it seems like things could not get worse in Hockeytown.

Yet, ahead of the road trip, the Red Wings have picked up back-to-back victories against two intimidating squads. The team has positivity surrounding it for the first time since the opening week of the season.

So, what went right for the team during those two wins, and is it something that they can continue to build on moving forward? Let us take a look at the surprising success the Red Wings found over their past two games and provide some expectations for their West Coast visit.

Red Wings’ Winning Weekend

On Nov. 8, the league-leading Boston Bruins came to Little Caesars Arena to face the Red Wings, who were sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings. As everyone expected, the Red Wings won that game 4-2, and convincingly outplayed the Bruins for large portions of the contest.

Likewise, two days later, the Red Wings orchestrated a third-period comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights. It was not the prettiest game, as the Red Wings only had 19 shots on net, but they still managed to grit it out and find a way to win.

In summary, all of these numbers suggest that this has the potential to be a productive road trip for the Red Wings. Alas, they could also lose all three games in blowout fashion and revert to their old habits.

Realistically, two wins on the trip would be an overwhelming success. Not that long ago, it felt like this team was never going to win again. Sustained stretches of optimism are going to be rare for the Red Wings this season, but at least this past weekend provided some much-needed positivity.