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The Red Wings won their last game of a five-game road trip by doing what they could not do consistently the past four: play as a team.
Facing an offensively potent Calgary Flames squad, the Red Wings appeared to be off to what has become their typical start.
Calgary forward Curtis Glencross nearly converted on a rebound less than one minute into the game.
Detroit goalie Chris Osgood scrambled to make the save and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom made sure to clear the puck out of danger.
This small sequence provided evidence that, perhaps, this team was still capable of playing as a cohesive unit. Evidence the people on CSI would have been hard-pressed to find over the past few games.
This small ray of hope eventually blossomed into a beaming blast of sunshine as the Red Wings continued their strong team play throughout the game on route to a 3-1 win.
By the numbers, their road trip wasn't all that bad, a 2-1-2 record for six points.
However, until the Calgary game, they had yet to look like a team in control of their own destiny, twice surrendering leads late in a game and twice needing to claw their way back from multi-goal deficits.
The last game of the trip (often considered the hardest one to win) was an unlikely time to turn in what was perhaps their most solid performance of the year.
Detroit's heretofore most consistent forward, Valteri Fillpula suffered a broken wrist the previous game against Edmonton which bought him a six-week pass on Detroit's IR, and second-year forward Justin Abdelkader a spot in the line-up.
Top six defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, suffering "flu-like symptoms" was shelved for the game and replaced by No. 7 defenseman Derek Meech.
Playing an imposing team like the Calgary Flames (7-3-1) with a patch-work roster, the last game of a trip, would hardly be considered optimal conditions for a team struggling on so many levels.
But, they won, and they looked good doing it.
They looked like the Detroit Red Wings.
Facing such obstacles and winning, one can only hope that Detroit can use this win as a spring board towards making November, dare I say, a month to remember.
The Red Wings will have a tough start to the November schedule facing Boston and San Jose this week.
Additionally, they'll also have three back-to-back home and away tilts throughout the month.
The strong five-man unit play ,which the Wings largely failed to execute so far this season, will be key to their success.
Already without Johan Franzen (out until February with a torn-ACL), and with Fillpula out for the next six weeks, Detroit will need to play as a team greater than the sum of its parts if it has any hope of righting their season.
All this being said, the win over Calgary was just one game.
However, in that win, fans saw a team that looked curiously similar to the Detroit Red Wings of old.
One can only hope it proves to be the first of many performances turned in by the classic-model Detroit Red Wings and not a vintage exhibition.
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