Detroit — A good start, and then a consistent performance over 60 minutes, are what the Detroit Red Wings will be looking for Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
A common theme in the two losses in Buffalo and Long Island — two discouraging losses from the Red Wings’ perspective — were poor starts.
Having to overcome penalties, defensive lapses, then having to overcome a deficit, are all issues that put the Red Wings in early holes — holes they were unable to overcome.
“We didn’t start well in Buffalo,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We responded a little better as the night went on.
“We didn’t start well in New York, and we never got it going. So certainly there’s the on-ice product that has to be worked on, but there’s the between-ears part that has to be managed as well.”
An issue that hindered the Red Wings in recent years was their inability to deal with adversity. When things went against them the other way, they weren’t fully able to get it back going the other direction.
In this two-game losing streak, some bad habits emerged again.
“I didn’t think we’ve (handled adversity) on this road trip,” McLellan said. “We haven’t done a real good job of handling it, and that’s a huge area of growth for this team.
“When it doesn’t go your way, how do you respond?”
After Saturday’s home game against St. Louis, the Wings go on the road again, this time for a five-game trip that eventually heads west. The Wings say they need to create some sort of momentum before going on the road.
They hope the back-to-back losses fuel an urgent response.
“We didn’t have anything going on,” said captain Dylan Larkin, who has scored a point in all eight games this season, of Thursday’s loss. “We didn’t do a good job enough job of anything. We lost the net battles, battles all over the ice. Our penalty kill was good but you can’t lose that many battles in a hockey game.
“Hopefully we get rest (Friday, a complete day off) and then get the emotion back and juice back for the home game (Saturday). Then kind of figure it out on the road. It’ll be a tough trip. We have to find energy and get our spirit going.”
Danielson activated
The Wings activated forward Nate Danielson from injured non-roster and assigned him to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Danielson, 21, skated in his rookie season with the Griffins in 2024-25 and ranked among the team leaders with 71 games played, 12 goals, 27 assists, with a plus-four rating.
Danielson had an impressive training camp and exhibition season, but an undisclosed injury the last week of the preseason nullified any chance to making the Wings’ opening-night roster.
Blues at Red Wings
▶ Faceoff: 7 p.m. Saturday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
▶ TV / radio: FDSN / 97.1
▶ Notable: The Wings (5-2-0) return for one home game before going on a week-long road trip. The Blues (3-3-1) visit Little Caesars Arena Saturday, then the teams play again Tuesday in St. Louis. … RW Jordan Kyrou (four assists, five points) is off to a fast start.
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
