Red Wings get brutally honest about skid

The Detroit Red Wings are mired in their longest winless skid of the season, having dropped five in a row after their statement victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this month. And while injuries have certainly played a role, fans have noticed troubling recent tendencies to revert back to last season's bad habits of appearing lost defensively, poor special teams and a lack of offensive punch. 

The Red Wings are in the nation's capitol city to take on the Washington Capitals, and ahead of tonight's game, captain Dylan Larkin offered a frank assessment of his team's play of late, and what needs to happen to get out of the doldrums. 

“I think early in the year we were getting the big save at the right time, the big kill, the big goal,” Larkin said. “Right now, it’s not happening for us. We have to find a way to get that back, whether it’s someone scoring a big goal, a big hit or a big fight that changes the game. Whatever you bring to the lineup, we need to have more of that.

“Our goaltending has been good all year, our team play has been good, our penalty kill has been good for the most part. We just have to find a way to get it back. And I think it starts with just a solid 60-minute effort against Washington, maybe a 2-1 or 1-0 game where we get two points, and we get that good feeling back.”

They'll be looking to get the terrible taste of Saturday afternoon's discouraging setback against the Ottawa Senators, who pounced on Detroit with three power play goals along with two shorthanded goals. How can they develop better habits? 

“A lot of it starts with battles off of face-offs, recovering pucks on the power play,” explained head coach Derek Lalonde said. “It’s a little frustrating, both special teams, and obviously there is some execution issues there, but a little bit is power play losing some battles, losing some 50-50s. They get a clear. On the PK we went through four games in a row, and we only gave up one goal and it was the only chance they got. (On Saturday) with the puck on our stick we literally handed it right to them on two of their power-play goals. A little more detail, a little more sense of urgency in some areas for special teams to be successful.”

Tonight's game begins at 7:00 PM EST.