Things couldn’t be going much better for the Detroit Red Wings on their current road trip. They staged third-period rallies to win a pair of games against Atlantic Division rivals – 4-2 at Toronto and 3-2 in overtime at Florida. The outcomes moved Detroit into third place in the division, one point ahead of the Maple Leafs and seven points back of the second-place Panthers.
“Huge first two games of this road trip for us,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin told Bally Sports Detroit.
In Carolina for a Friday matchup with the Hurricanes, the Red Wings are also in position to achieve an accomplishment not seen by this franchise in more than a decade. They could be extending their road winning streak to six games.
Prior to the two wins on this trip, the Red Wings went 3-0 on their California swing. There was a 5-3 victory at San Jose followed by a 4-3 shootout win at Los Angeles and and 3-2 success at Anaheim. It was the first time since 2008 that Detroit was sweeping the club’s California swing.
“For sure, it feels good, but it doesn’t come for free,” Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon said of the club’s recent road success. “If you take it for granted and the second you start to think there’s momentum that’s going to build on itself, that’s when it’s going to go back the other way.
“We just have to continue to stay on the details and move forward. We got another huge game in a very tough building in two days.”
The current five-game road winning streak was previously most recently achieved in March of 2013. That stretch started with a 3-2 OT decision at Edmonton. Next was a 5-2 victory at Vancouver, followed by successive wins at Anaheim by 5-1 and 2-1 counts. The fifth triumph came in the form of a 3-2 verdict at Phoenix.
Red Wings Best Road Streak since 2011
You have to go back in the annals a total of 13 years to find a better Detroit road performance. Twice during the 2010-11 season, the Red Wings would post six successive road victories.
The more recent stretch was in February of 2011. It started with a 6-1 win at Boston. Next came a 6-2 victory over Tampa Bay and a 4-3 verdict at Florida. Then there back-to-back shootout verdicts – 2-1 at Buffalo and 3-2 at Minnesota. Finally, a 7-4 win at LA extended the streak to six road wins.
The prior streak took place in December of 2010 and January of 2011. There was a 4-1 win at Minnesota, followed a a 4-3 OT decision at Colorado. Then came a 7-3 win at Dallas, a 5-3 decision at Edmonton and successive shootout triumphs – 5-4 at Calgary and 2-1 Vancouver.
The club record for consecutive road wins is 12. That mark was set during the 2005-06 season, from March 1 through April 15.
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