Peeling off their gear in Stockholm after blowing a 2-0 third-period lead in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a question from captain Dylan Larkin wound up stopping the Detroit Red Wings in their tracks.
“We need to figure out what type of team we’re gonna be,” defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere remembered Larkin asking of the team.
Since that day, the Red Wings have been the kind of team they were at the outset of the 2023-24 NHL season – impressive, explosive and unbeatable.
Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 home-ice verdict over the Minnesota Wild was Detroit’s third successive win. The Red Wings also blanked New Jersey 4-0 at home and won 5-2 at Boston. That’s a 13-3 goal differential during this three-game streak of success.
“I think guys looked at ourselves in the mirror and realized if we do it the right way, we’re gonna get the results,” Gostisbehere said. “It’s really been working.”
Red Wings Developing Winning Traits
Winning isn’t merely measured on the scoreboard. While that’s certainly where the ultimate passing of judgement is taking place, the fact of the matter is all teams must be building a core principle of winning habits in order to get to the top of that mountain of success.
This is what coaches mean when they speak of the process.
Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde cited their unsuccessful 0-1-1 Sweden trip as the type of impact that could’ve derailed a lesser club.
“The Europe one point in two games was a very emotional low,” Lalonde said. “We had to sit on it for a long time. I give our guys credit for handling it well.
“I just think our guys matured a little bit to judge themselves on performance over outcome. That was an example where our performance was not bad, but not good enough. We didn’t get the outcome. I think it’s a step for the group and a little maturity of handling that disappointment in Europe the right way.”
Perron Sees Detroit Growing As A Group
David Perron was a two-goal scorer in Sunday’s win, giving him 300 NHL goals. Rather than boasting of his milestone, he was taking more pride in what he’s seeing developing around him inside the Red Wings locker room.
“I go back to the way we play,” said Perron, a Stanley Cup winner with St. Louis in 2018-19. “We take care of each other. It’s what it’s supposed to feel like.
“We play for each other right now. The winning habits, a lot of good changes, things like that, the things that winning teams do. That’s the process that we have to keep doing.”
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