Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff considers several factors which may improve the Red Wings’ chances of making the playoff cut–presuming that their 4-game road trip through Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest goes well–this morning:
Red Wings Need To Start On Time
It’s great that Detroit has been able to rally from 2-0 deficits to win each of the last two games. This shouldn’t be viewed as a pattern the Red Wings will want to be continuing.
Chasing the game wears a team down. Catch-up hockey is losing hockey in the long run. The Wings are 10-18-1 this season when the opposition opens the scoring.
Winning The Race To Three
When he was first arriving in Detroit, McLellan was talking about NHL games being a race to three. His theory was that the first team to score three goals won the vast majority of games.
So far, he’s been proven a prophet. Under McLellan, the Wings are 11-0 when getting to three goals first in a game. They are 0-4 when the opponents is the first to net three times.
