DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have a new goal horn at Little Caesars Arena that sounds like the one from the glory days of Joe Louis Arena. They have a new goal song too. It’s part of “Without Me” by Detroit artist Eminem.
“Guess who’s back?” another part goes. “Back again …”
Are the Red Wings back? It’s too early to tell four games into the season. But they’re off to a good start, 3-1-0 after a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, and we’ll get another hint when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, BSDET). The Senators are 3-1-0 after a 6-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and tied with the Red Wings atop the Atlantic Division.
Alex DeBrincat, Detroit’s biggest offseason acquisition, leads the NHL with eight points (five goals, three assists) in four games. Of course, he came from Ottawa. After he declined to sign a long-term contract, the Senators traded him to the Red Wings on July 9. The forward signed a four-year, $31.5 million contract ($7.875 million average annual value) with his hometown team.
“It’s definitely going to be weird going back,” DeBrincat said. “I think they obviously have a great team, and it’s going to be a good battle. I think there’s a budding rivalry there, so it should be a good game and a fun one to be a part of, so I’m excited to go back.”
Flash back to last season: The Red Wings were on a 7-1-0 run and tied for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference on Feb. 25. But they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 that night, and then they lost back-to-back games in Ottawa by a combined score of 12-3 on Feb. 27-28. That prompted them to sell ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3.
“We have a long way to go, and I think those two games were indicative,” general manager Steve Yzerman said then.
The Red Wings ended up missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season, tying the longest drought (1970-77) in their 97-year history. They finished 24th in the NHL in goals per game (2.89) and 17th on the power play (21.1 percent). Yzerman was active in the offseason, adding DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Klim Kostin and Daniel Sprong at forward, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry on defense, and James Reimer in goal.
Well, after a 4-3 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12, the Red Wings have won three in a row. They defeated the Lightning 6-4 at home Saturday and the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on the road Monday. They’re tied for first in goals per game (4.75) with the Senators and Carolina Hurricanes, and they’re first on the power play (46.2 percent). They have 12 players with a goal and 17 with a point.
“It just feels like a goal could come from any line at any point,” said forward Andrew Copp, who has four points (three goals, one assist) in four games. “I think that gives you some confidence even more to play the right way, because if you don’t give up much, we’re going to find our chances with the group that we have.”
The Red Wings fell behind 1-0 on Wednesday when Penguins center Evgeni Malkin scored 53 seconds into the first period. Didn’t matter. Detroit tied the game later in the first and took a 4-1 lead in the second period. After the Penguins made it 4-3 in the third period, the Red Wings responded again.
“I don’t know if we would have panicked last year, but it’s definitely more of a quiet confidence about, you know, you can get down one, you can get down two, and we’ve got enough scorers in here,” Copp said. “The depth of our scoring has shown so far.”
Again, it’s early. It’s just a four-game stretch. Coach Derek Lalonde cautioned that scoring can be up and down. But he also said, “Just add a couple more sticks in the lineup, it’s amazing what it can do for your offense.”
You don’t want to hype the fifth game of the season too much, either. But the Senators are trying to end a six-season playoff drought, and the playoff race could be tight. This will be relatively big for both teams. And isn’t that a first step? Playing big games?
“After last year, I think we just want to put our best foot forward,” Copp said. “I think it’s two teams that feel like they’re on the rise and feel like they’re on the cusp of becoming a playoff team year over year, so there will be some battles for sure. I think we just, we want to play a good hockey game.
“I think we’re trending in the right direction right now. We’re feeling good about our game, but that’ll be another test.”
