It's still rather early in the 2023-24 NHL season, but the Detroit Red Wings have shown some promise. Many expected them to be a fringe contender for the Stanley Cup Playoffs at best this year. But they have shown some fight and flashed their skill through the first 12 games of their schedule.
The Red Wings spent a ton of money this summer to make this team better. So to some extent, improvement is not a surprise, rather the expectation. But there are still some surprising aspects to Detroit's run right now. No one expected them to sit second place in the Atlantic Division, for example. And I don't know who would have pegged this team to hand the Boston Bruins their first regulation loss of the year.
That said, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. The Red Wings are still a work in progress, and we've seen that they do still need a bit of work before they are truly contenders in the NHL. With that said, let's briefly go over the start they've had before looking at their biggest surprise and disappointment early in the 2023-24 season.
Red Wings' start to the year
The Red Wings began the year against the New Jersey Devils on the road. It was a back-and-forth game that saw the Devils skate away with a 4-3 win to kick off the season. However, Detroit didn't let that faze them. They rattled off five wins in a row, scoring five goals or more in four of the wins victories.
However, they began a bit of a downturn after that. They lost to the Seattle Kraken in overtime to snap the skid. And they'd go on to lose their next two games against the Winnipeg Jets and the Bruins. In their three most recent games, though, the Red Wings have won two in comeback fashion.
Down 2-0 to the New York Islanders in the third, Detroit rattled off three goals. The game needed overtime, but Lucas Raymond came up big to give the Winged Wheel a massive win. After a 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers, Detroit then rebounded by erasing multiple deficits and defeating the Bruins 5-4 in regulation.
Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin's surprisingly quick chemistry
The biggest storyline for the Red Wings early in the year is the chemistry between Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin. Many expected these two to hit it off on the ice. Larkin is quite the playmaker, and DeBrincat is a premier goal-scorer in the NHL. However, it's a bit surprising how quickly they've found their stride.
It's especially surprising since this wasn't too evident in preseason. DeBrincat and Larkin made plays, sure. But nothing from preseason told us the duo would perform like this. It is easily the team's most pleasant surprise of the young season.
As of now, Larkin leads the team with 12 assists and 17 points. For DeBrincat, he leads the team with nine goals, while coming second in points with 14. In fact, DeBrincat's nine goals are good for a five-way tie for second place in the NHL. It's an incredible return after Detroit's massive trade for DeBrincat back in July.
Whether these two can keep things going certainly remains to be seen. But if Larkin and DeBrincat continue to lead the way, the Red Wings may find themselves in the hunt for the Stanley Cup Playoffs sooner rather than later.
Discipline needs to improve
One of Detroit's biggest issues to begin the season is their discipline. This showed up in a major way in the very first game against the Devils. The Red Wings lost by one, but they allowed six power play opportunities during the game. Any time you have to kill that many penalties, you are setting yourself up for failure.
As of now, the Red Wings rank eighth in the league in total penalty minutes. So far, their penalty kill has held up okay, succeeding 82% of the time. However, the issue isn't only with the amount of penalties they take. It's when they take these penalties.
Detroit's loss to the Kraken came about, in part, because of a bad penalty. Dylan Larkin was called for hooking with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Seattle goes on the power play, and former 40-goal scorer Jared McCann tied the game. The Kraken then went on to win in overtime.
Something similar happened against the Islanders, as well. Detroit held a 3-2 lead before David Perron was called for tripping. The ensuing power play allowed New York to tie the game with around four minutes left.
These late penalties put Detroit in bad positions, and in some cases, put them in a position to lose. If Detroit wants to seriously contend for a playoff spot, they need to play with more discipline. Otherwise, they run the risk of losing points they should have earned.
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