Will The Detroit Red Wings Ever Lose At Home?
As a fan/blogger of the Chicago Blackhawks, it pains me to see what the Detroit Red Wings have done for the past couple of months.
But there is no denying just how good this team has been in their own building. They won’t play at home again until Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks, but heading into that game they’ve won an absurd 23 consecutive games at Joe Louis Arena.
In a division where teams have boosted their respective records greatly by playing at home, with the exception of Columbus, the Wings have been far and away the best.
They currently sit atop the Western Conference and lead the Central Division by five points over the next closest team, the St. Louis Blues.
So just how are the Red Wings doing it? For a team that quite a few people expected to show their age a bit more this season, they’ve been solid in all phases of the game, at full strength. They’re ranked fifth in the league in both goals for and goals against on the year.
On offense, they’re boosted by, quite possibly, the best all around player in the world in Pavel Datsyuk. If it wasn’t for the play of guys like Evgeni Malkin or Henrik Lundqvist, Datsyuk would be a favorite for the Hart Trophy. He has 59 points on the season, good for ninth in the league, is a plus-18, and is winning his faceoffs at a 56 percent clip.
Their depth, both on the forward lines and on defense, has allowed the Red Wings to find great success. But don’t forget about the work being done in goal either.
Jimmy Howard was already having a career year. He was an All Star before going down with an injury that allowed Joey MacDonald to steal the backup job with an absolutely torrid run, going 6-1-1 in Howard’s absence.
The Wings might be the NHL’s best all around club. They’re not particularly dominant in any phase of the game, but they play an all around game and play well as a unit. And at home, their stats are among the best in the league.
At home, no team has scored more or allowed less goals than the Red Wings have. Though their power play isn’t among the league’s best, it has scored more goals with the man advantage than 27 other teams at home.
Obviously, the Red Wings are going to lose eventually at home. But how are teams going to do it? The main thing it’s going to take is an advantage on special teams. Neither their power play or the penalty kill are particularly dominant, and the team that can exploit that is the team that can finally put an end to this ridiculous run the Wings are on.
Until then, get used to seeing Detroit grab two points whenever they are playing at the Joe.
