The Detroit Red Wings are in urgent need of a turnaround as they face the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Entering San Jose, the Red Wings have secured just one win in their last five games and have lost their first two matchups against California teams. After starting their four-game road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, they squandered a two-goal lead in a 6-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, only to suffer a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings the following night.
“One shift can turn everything around,” forward Andrew Copp stated. “We’re going to put pressure on ourselves Monday night and treat this as a crucial game for our mentality. If we can salvage a 2-2 road trip, we can build from there.”
In Los Angeles, the Red Wings struggled from the start, falling behind 2-0 late in the first period after two quick goals by the Kings, followed by a third goal just 15 seconds into the third period, which coach Derek Lalonde called a “backbreaker.”
“It’s frustrating because we’ve shown flashes of good hockey, but it hasn’t been consistent enough,” Lalonde said.
The team took a day off on Sunday in hopes that a break would rejuvenate them after playing consecutive nights on their West Coast trip.
“We need to earn some confidence on Monday night and hopefully bring some swagger back to Detroit,” said Copp.
Meanwhile, the Sharks are returning home after concluding a four-game road trip with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins on Saturday.
San Jose was down 3-0 early in the second period but fought back to earn a point.
“It’s not ideal to be trailing in games, and we want to avoid that,” said forward Tyler Toffoli, who scored twice on Saturday. “But for our team, rallying back is a positive sign mentally.”
The rebuilding Sharks are experiencing a mix of good and bad news. Although they are winless in their last three games, they finished the trip with a 1-1-2 record and have a 5-3-2 mark over their last ten games, a notable recovery after starting the season with nine straight losses.
Despite this small positive streak, the Sharks find themselves at the bottom of the Pacific Division and far from playoff contention.
“I don’t feel like we’re that close, to be honest,” coach Ryan Warsofsky admitted. “We still have a long way to go. Until every player believes in that, we’ll continue to experience this up-and-down pattern.”
The Sharks played without forward Nico Sturm in Pittsburgh due to an upper-body injury sustained in New York. Additionally, goaltender Vitek Vanecek left the game after the first period due to an undisclosed issue, and it is uncertain whether either player will be available for Monday’s game.
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