Detroit Red Wings Losing Streak, Plus December Schedule May Equal Trouble Ahead

By Game 23 of this season, the Red Wings led the Central Division by seven points, sat atop the Western Conference with 36 points, and had obtained a 17-4-2 record.

One would think that this would be enough to make any head coach skate on to the ice for practice whistling the theme to "Zippity Do Da". However, for Mike Babcock, this was actually cause for concern.

During their recent three game road trip, just after the Wings embarrassed the Ducks in their own barn and beat them 4-0, Babcock spoke about not getting too comfortable or too impressed with his team's strong start.

He noted that, usually, as soon as you start getting happy about where you're at, things begin to go south.

Man, does this guy know his team or what?

After the win in Anaheim, the Wings met the LA Kings and, though they played a good game, they did not push hard enough to squeak out a win in overtime.

But, hey, gaining five out of a possible six points is hardly a bad trip right?

That kind of self-congratulatory sentiment might well have been in the Wings' collective heads when they came home to face the San Jose Sharks, a team they had beaten soundly just one week prior.

Detroit came out to an early lead, and rather than pushing harder and going in for the kill, they allowed the Sharks back into the game and eventually fell to a 5-2 loss.

On Wednesday night, the Wings', particularly Johan Franzen, seemed unfocused and a little disinterested in their opponent, the Nashville Predators.

Turnovers, poor positioning, and mental mistakes saw the Wings down 2-0 by the first minute of the second period. In the end, it turned into a 3-2 loss.

Now, don't get me wrong here, a three-game losing streak is hardly cause for panic, particularly since the Wings still own the Central Division and Western Conference lead. However, that sense of self-satisfaction Mike Babcock talked about a week ago appears to have set in among some of his players. 

This is cause for concern.

Of course, determining if this has indeed happened is a bit tricky.

No players are telling reporters that they're pleased with themselves and feel they deserve a shift or two off. No one is saying they feel it's OK to coast a while and still maintain their spot at the top of the NHL.

No, no one is saying this in Detroit, but their play of late is shouting it loud and clear.

Giving up leads and falling behind early in games is not something the Wings have become accustomed to so far this season, and that's exactly why they're in the position they're in.

Still, with the possible exception of the Los Angeles game, the Wings more or less beat themselves twice in a row with sloppy play, turn-overs, and a noticeable sense of disinterest in outworking their opponent.

If all of this stops here, there's nothing to worry about in Hockeytown.  However, habits are hard to break, and right now the Red Wings are falling into the bad habit of beating themselves.

When you add this trend to a schedule that will see the Red Wings play 12 games in 21 days, including three back-to-backs, the result could be disastrous.

Getting back to that record after 23 games, one should note that, at that time, the Red Wings also held the distinction of playing the fewest games in the league as well as having a whopping five games in hand over their second-place divisional rival Chicago Blackhawks.

By the end of this month, the Red Wings will have pretty much caught up with the rest of the league and end December with only a single game in hand over Chicago.

Considering the rapid pace their about to ramp up to, to do so in the midst of a three-game slide is hardly a recipe for success.

As of now, the Red Wings have the points and the time to get back to the smart, desperate, energetic hockey that has launched them to the top of the NHL standings.  But, those assets are going to start disappearing, and quickly, as December rolls on.

Losing is a hard habit to break, but the Red Wings better break it soon if they have intentions of entering 2011 as Western Conference leaders.

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