The Red Wings have the same record at home as the two-time defending Cup champs. On the road, they're more like the Coyotes. They're even better at home than the NHL-leading Hurricanes, who blitzed the visiting Red Wings for three goals in the first Thursday night en route to a 5-3 win.
And so it goes. The Wings have allowed at least five goals in each of their last four road games, over which time they've been outscored 10-3 in the first.
"What takes away momentum more than anything else is goals against," Jeff Blashill said after Thursday's loss. "You just can’t give up that many goals and expect to win consistently on the road."
No you cannot. The Wings have allowed an NHL-high 4.20 goals per game this season on the road, where they have a record of 4-10-1. Only the Coyotes and Canadiens have been worse. They've allowed just 2.60 goals per game at home, where they have a record of 10-3-2. Only the top three teams in the Atlantic and the top team in the Central have been better.
The Wings felt Thursday's loss was self-inflicted. They took an early penalty that led to a power-play goal two minutes into the game, then battled back to tie it at three after the second. Only to give up the go-ahead goal 18 seconds into the third and spend the rest of the night chasing.
"We gave it to them," said Dylan Larkin. "We gave them goals, easy looks and they capitalized."
This was a Hurricanes team without Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, not to mention Jordan Staal. And in most ways, the Red Wings matched them stride for stride. The scoring chances were even. The run of play favored Detroit in the second. But the Wings broke down at key junctures and left town with another loss.
"We have to figure it out," said Larkin. "You’ve asked it quite a bit and we’re looking for answers. We need a spark, we need to get in a groove, but it’s just been really difficult. We don’t have the answer for it right now. We play so sound at home. On the road, it’s a different story ever night and it’s not always our effort. I feel like our effort’s there on the road and at home. Tonight we gave them too many grade-A looks, easy grade-A looks, and that’s something on us that we have to clean up."
If the Wings were even .500 on the road, they'd be sitting comfortably in the second wild card spot in the East. Their road woes are the one thing keeping them from legitimate playoff contention. Not that their road woes can be defined by 'one thing.' To Larkin's point, every game is different. But most road wins, at least, are created the same -- and this is where the Wings keep coming up short.
"It’s playing sound. It’s playing a boring game when you have a lead or it’s a tight game and then you capitalize on your opportunity, whether it’s a power play or a look or a big shift," Larkin said. "We just haven’t had that on the road. We had it in Boston where we played a boring game and frustrated their big guys, but we haven’t had too much of it."
Larkin's right. The Wings played boring hockey in Boston last month. They didn't create much of anything for most of the game. They also played smart hockey from the jump, even when they were under siege. They created and converted when the opportunity presented itself in the third and left town with a 2-1 win. It remains the only time they've allowed less than two goals in 15 road games this season. They've allowed at least five goals nine times.
"We need to find way to simplify our game more on the road, and especially make sure we have a good start," Larkin said. "We haven’t had a good start in the last three or four road games, so we need to clean that up."
It's funny. The Wings haven't been an especially dominant team at home, in spite of their record. They've won a bunch of close games by playing the type of tight-checking, opportunistic hockey they aspire to play every night. In time, their record will probably even out. But it won't change on the road if they don't change their ways, if they don't start sticking to the formula the works. It's fine to be boring, and much better than being beat.