Red Wings – Kings Partial Recap

I only caught the third period of Thursday’s Red Wings – Kings matchup but from that and reports of the rest of the game it sounds like another one of this season’s typical home wins for Detroit.

Six games into the season the Wings have played an entirely different game at the Joe than they have on the road.

At home they’re calm and patient. They move the puck well on offense and they backcheck when play moves into their own zone.

On the road (including the “home” game in Stockholm) they’re sloppy. They rush to force passes through and they don’t come back to play defense.

Detroit’s GAA at Joe Louis Arena is 2.00. Elsewhere it’s 5.00. The Wings are scoring a full goal per game more at the Joe than they are on the road.

Admittedly, these numbers are skewed by last night’s 5-2 win and Tuesday’s 6-2 loss but those are trends the team can’t afford to let last for the whole season.