Preview: Red Wings welcome Kraken Wednesday, eyeing fourth straight win

DETROIT -- On their most recent road trip prior to Thanksgiving Week, the Detroit Red Wings gave up 17 goals over four games, and were admittedly struggling defensively. It appears they've turned the page and gotten back to the stingy type of hockey that will give them a chance every night.
Detroit grinded out a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday, and has given up just five goals in its current three-game winning streak. The Red Wings will play the second half of a back-to-back on Wednesday, entertaining the expansion Seattle Kraken for the first time. Puck drop from Little Caesars Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.

"A week ago, I don't even think we played as mature as we did tonight to be honest with you," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Tuesday in Boston. "Some of it stems from the fact that we got a chance to practice, we got a chance to get our habits back, we got a chance to get our structure back. But I also think we got a lot of young players in important roles, and I think, even as a team, sometimes veteran players have to kind of remind themselves of what it takes to be a winning type of hockey team."

Along with eyeing their fourth straight win on Wednesday, Detroit will also look to record its fourth consecutive victory at Little Caesars Arena, dating back to Nov. 13. The Red Wings are 7-2-2 at home entering a three-game homestand to kick off December.
In its first year of existence, Seattle will look to continue its recent road success. The Kraken have won two straight away from home by a combined score of 11-5, including Monday's 7-4 win at Buffalo. Center Jaden Schwartz's 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) leads a quartet of players with 14 or more points on the season. Philipp Grubauer has drawn 16 starts in goal and recorded a 3.03 goals-against average and .890 save percentage.
Against the Bruins, Detroit was supported by another strong night from goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. In his fourth consecutive start, he made 41 saves and picked up his seventh win.

While Blashill complimented Nedeljkovic's's performance, he reiterated that defensive success is a team effort.
"He [Nedeljkovic] played good; I will say that. I thought we played very good defensively," Blashill said. "We gave up shots, but we didn't give up a whole bunch of chances. When we did, he did a good job. To me, that's the type of game that can really help goalies push their save percentage high because it's a decent amount of shots, a decent amount from the outside.
"I thought we protected the back post pretty well. I thought we took away the real grade-A chances. So, I think for me, this would be more of a team defense success than just one player."
Wednesday's game is the first of two matchups between Detroit and Seattle this season. The Red Wings will travel to Seattle and the new Climate Pledge Arena on March 19.

Red Wings send thoughts and prayers to Oxford High School

Before the Red Wings addressed the media following Tuesday's game, captain Dylan Larkin and Blashill talked about the tragedy that took place in Oxford, Mich., on Tuesday afternoon.
Larkin sent his condolences to the community and state of Michigan.
"It was an unspeakable tragedy that happened today. It hit us hard. It hit the guys in the room hard." Larkin said. "We're thinking about the victims and the entire community and we're there to support. We just feel awful about the tragedy that happened today, so our thoughts are with Oxford, Michigan, tonight."
"I just want to send out my prayers to the families that were affected today in Oxford," Blashill said as he fought back tears.
"It's a terrible, terrible thing. It just shouldn't happen. Nothing I say can certainly do anything to help those that suffered the tragedy, that lost their lives. I think it's insane that this is somewhat normal, and it just shouldn't happen. Again, my heart goes out to everybody involved, certainly everybody at the school, the community. It's got to stop."