After picking up important wins earlier this week, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers are both hoping to build on those performances when they play each other Thursday in Pennsylvania.
Detroit ended a five-game losing streak on Monday with a 6-5 win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings were down 5-3 with under 10 minutes remaining in the game, but they tied it up and won in a shootout.
“It was a massive win for us,” said Dylan Larkin of Detroit, who had two assists in regulation before scoring the game-winning goal in the shootout. “… It was good for our hockey team to score some goals, to be down and come back and win like that.”
Andrew Copp scored two goals for Detroit, while Lucas Raymond scored once in regulation and again in the shootout. Sebastian Cossa was the standout player for Detroit, stepping in for Ville Husso in net after the first period and getting the win in his NHL debut.
The Red Wings have had a tough stretch, with 11 straight games decided by two goals or fewer. During their five-game losing streak, each loss was by just one goal, including two overtime losses.
“We needed one to go our way,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “We were a little sloppy tonight, but we produced some offense. Give a lot of credit to the guys (for hanging) in there.”
The Flyers’ situation is similar to the Red Wings’ recent struggles. Philadelphia lost three games in a row before picking up a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Travis Konecny scored two goals, and Owen Tippett scored for the fifth straight game in the Flyers’ win. They will play eight of their next 10 games on the road after Thursday’s game.
“We needed that win,” Konecny said. “We’ve been going in the wrong direction for a few games, so it was good to turn it around.”
Like Detroit, the Flyers have been in a stretch of close games, with nine straight games decided by two goals or fewer. “I felt it was an important game for us to get back to playing with energy,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said.
Both teams also share the fact that they haven’t made the playoffs in several years. Detroit has missed the postseason for the last eight seasons, and it will be tough for them to make it to the playoffs in 2025. On the other hand, Philadelphia has a good chance of ending its four-year playoff drought.
That said, the Flyers are focusing on taking things one game at a time.
“I think it’s still a little early to look at standings and movement and stuff, but, obviously, you know when the big games are, when you play in your conference and division,” Tippett said. “Those are the points that matter coming down to the end.”
This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and they will play again next week in Detroit and once more in Philadelphia on January 21.
