Lucas Raymond announces critical mandate for Red Wings in coming games
Photo credit: https://octopusthrower.com/posts/star-was-born-detroit-red-wings-2023-24-01hw95mpxy0b
The Detroit Red Wings return home to face the divisional foe Canadiens, and it's the time to start stringing wins together - especially considering the standings.
Detroit Red Wings fans still remember the sting of losing not once but twice to the divisional foe Montreal Canadiens in just 48 hours in December; the losses caused Detroit to lose more ground in the Atlantic Division.
As if that weren't enough, the Red Wings then suffered an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues at home immediately before the Christmas break, which sealed former coach Derek Lalonde's fate.
GM Steve Yzerman made the much-needed coaching change, bringing back former assistant coach Todd McLellan in his place. And while the Red Wings rattled off 8 wins in 10 games since the change was made, they've since lost 3 of their last 4.
They now have a crucial opportunity in front of them, with the next trio of games on home ice - starting tonight against the Canadiens.
And Lucas Raymond knows the importance of protecting home ice if the Red Wings are to have realistic aspirations of the postseason.
We take pride in taking care of our home ice, especially against guys in our division and around us [in the Eastern Conference standings]. It's a big stretch for us obviously, and I think everyone is looking forward to it.
While Detroit picked up only 3 of a possible 8 points on their road trip, the potential is there to get right back into the thick of things. While Raymond feels the defense was improved, he knows the goal scoring needs to return.
I felt like our defense was good in a lot of stretches. Obviously, not scoring as much as we would like to. It's tough to win games when you score one goal, but that's the reality of it. At the same time, we know we can score and what to do to be successful.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 23 | 110 ANSWERS Lucas Raymond announces critical mandate for Red Wings in coming games Will the Red Wings take care of home ice against the Canadiens? | ||
| Yes | 108 | 98.2 % |
| No | 2 | 1.8 % |
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