A win is a win no matter when it’s earned, but the Detroit Red Wings readily admit that when it comes to wins, one simply won’t get it done.
Saturday’s 5-2 decision at Minnesota over the Wild might very well have been the team’s finest performance of the season, but it will matter little if they don’t continue their winning ways Tuesday on home ice against the woebegone Anaheim Ducks.
“We’ve been in stretches where we’ve had tough times winning games and then we win one and feel good about our game and we come out the next several and lose,” Wings center Dylan Larkin told Detroitredwings.com. “It’s hard to get to momentum when you’re winning one and then losing a couple.
“We all know in here we need to go on a good run and have a stretch where we’re winning games consistently.”
Even with the decisive victory over the wild, Detroit owns just three wins in its last 15 games and hasn’t won back-to-back games since Nov. 28 and Dec. 1.
Larkin recognizes the need to build on the momentum gained from Saturday’s success.
“The feeling in our locker room is that was a big win for us, a solid win,” Larkin said. “We didn’t give them much, but we can’t go back into close games where we’re losing by one goal. The effort’s there but the result isn’t.”
The Ducks have lost 11 in a row and unrest is growing within Anaheim’s ranks. GM Bob Murray publicly gave coach Randy Carlyle a vote of confidence on Sunday after the team’s latest loss.
The Wings know from personal experience how fragile things must be inside the Anaheim dressing room and the last thing they want to go is give the Ducks any cause for optimism.
“We need to have a fast start against these guys,” Larkin said. “We’ve been in a similar position that they’re in.”
DeKeyser Back
Defenseman Danny DeKeyser (fractured left hand) has been given the green light and will return Tuesday following a 19-game asbence. He missed eight games earlier in the season due to an injury to his left hand.
“I felt good in the play today, so as long as it’s fine with the med staff and Blash (coach Jeff Blashill), yeah I’ll be back in,” DeKeyser said.
“I thought I was playing well before I got hurt. Stuff like this happens. The only thing you can try to do is get back in there and get back up to speed.
“Obviously, missing six weeks in the middle of a season isn’t ideal. The pace picks up toward the second half of the season, so I’m just going to try to get in there and get my feet wet and get playing again.
Each of his hand injuries were different, and not just because they were on opposite hands.
“This was just a fracture,” DeKeyser said. “The other one on my right hand was some ligaments.”
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