After picking up much-needed wins earlier this week, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers will hope to build on their performance when they face off in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
Detroit snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with a 6-5 win against the Buffalo Sabers on Monday. The Red Wings trailed 5–3 with less than 10 minutes left in regulation and ultimately won in a shootout.
“It was a big win for us,” said Detroit’s Dylan Larkin, who had two assists in regulation before scoring the decisive goal in the shootout. “…It was good for our hockey team to score some goals, come back from a loss and win like this.”
Andrew Copp scored two goals for the Red Wings, while Lucas Raymond scored once in regulation and again in the shootout. However, the headliner for Detroit was Sebastián Cossa, who relieved Ville Husso in net after the first period and earned the win in his NHL debut.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Red Wings, who have played 11 consecutive games decided by two or fewer goals. During their five-match losing streak, each of those losses came by a single goal, including twice in overtime.
“We needed one to go our way,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. He said that his team “was a little shaky tonight, but we showed some offense. Give a lot of credit to the guys out there (for hanging on).”
The Red Wings’ story actually sounds similar to what the Flyers faced in November. Philadelphia had lost three in a row before turning in a solid performance in a 5-3 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Travis Konecny scored two goals and Owen Tippett scored for the fifth time in as many games for the Flyers, who play eight of their next 10 games on the road after Thursday’s contest.
“We needed that win,” Konecny said. “We had been going in the wrong direction for a few games, so it was good to change it up.”
Philadelphia, like Detroit, has had a long streak of games decided by two goals or less – nine in a row.
“I thought it was an important game for us to play with energy,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said.
Another similarity the Flyers and Red Wings have is that they have not reached the postseason in several years. Detroit has missed the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons (and faces an uphill battle to reach the postseason in 2025). Meanwhile, Philadelphia has a good chance to end its four-year playoff drought.
As stated, the goal for Flyers players is to take things one game at a time.
“I think it’s still a little early to look at the standings and movement and stuff, but, obviously, you know when the big games are when you play in your conference and division,” Tippett said. “Those are the points that matter in the end.”
This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, who will face off again next week in Detroit and then on Jan. 21 in Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media
