The table was set.
Unfortunately, the Red Wings' mindset appeared to be overconfidence tinged with a bit of laziness.
How else can you explain Wednesday’s lackluster effort in Columbus from a Detroit team that had so much to play for?
There haven’t been too many Red Wings games that qualify as stinkers, but their uninspired 4-2 loss to the hapless Blue Jackets reeked, and the stench could linger for a long time.
It was such a disappointing performance that Detroit coach Mike Babcock couldn’t muster up any words when he called a timeout after the Jackets took a 2-0 first-period lead.
During the timeout, Babcock paced back and forth behind the bench with an incredulous look upon his face. His silence, however, spoke volumes.
You can just imagine what he was thinking as his team gathered at the bench for the timeout, the emotions that were piling up.
Disbelief had to be at the top of that list since this game followed an all-too-familiar pattern.
Once again the Wings didn’t start on time and found themselves playing catch-up hockey on the road. If this season-long trend continues, the Wings could be in trouble come playoff time.
At this point in the season, you're trying to iron out any deficiencies that your team might have. For the Wings, that means getting their act together on the road.
Detroit’s road woes this season would leave anyone speechless. The Wings have dropped seven straight on the road (0-5-2) -- the first time they’ve gone winless in seven straight road games since the 1990-91 season.
Overall, Detroit’s road record stands at 16-21-3 this season, which by the Red Wings' standards is horrible. But with one more road game remaining, at St. Louis next Wednesday, the Wings could still enter the playoffs with a shot of road confidence.
That seems almost implausible, however.
What’s most disturbing about Detroit’s latest road loss is that Columbus is the last-place team in the NHL. Detroit had whipped the Jackets 7-2 two days earlier at Joe Louis Arena.
Entering the game, the Wings had a one-point lead (with a game in hand) on Nashville for the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings, which happens to be the last spot for home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
If that wasn’t enough incentive for the Wings to turn up the intensity, then how about a guy named Allen York, who started in net for Columbus? That’s right Allen York, the rookie who had appeared in seven games this season and was winless -- until he faced the Wings.
At a time when they should be tinkering with certain elements of their game and resting a veteran or two, the Wings are going to have to play hard right to the end.
They host Nashville on Friday in a game that will have a colossal impact on where Detroit finishes in the standings. After the Predators, Florida comes to town, then the Wings are off to St. Louis. They close out the year with visits from the Devils and the Blackhawks.
Considering that the Wings are starting to get healthy -- get well soon, Jimmy Howard -- and that they have the league’s second-best home record, you’d think that a seasoned Red Wings team will hold on to fourth in the West.
After Wednesday, though, don’t be too sure.
As much as you may want to believe, Babcock’s look of dismay is a telltale sign that something is amiss and he’s running out of answers.
