The Detroit Red Wings are finding a defensive winning formula

Detroit – Looks like the Red Wings are onto something.

After a disappointing trip to the West Coast in which the Wings lost three games and gave up 15 goals, they returned home looking like a different team.

Wednesday 2-1 overtime win over Calgary was the Wings’ third victory in the last four games. The Wings scored a total of six goals in those four games, marking a dramatic improvement in the team’s defense and a nod to the elite goaltending that has been going on for almost the entire season.

What seemed like a dire situation when the Wings returned from California looks very different now.

“We have conceded six goals in our last four games,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “It just gives us a chance. This is the reality of winning in the league, it’s not necessarily just us. Again, good buy-in from our guys, just a really good win.”

Goalie Cam Talbot made 24 saves to secure the win over Calgary. A game in which the Wings allowed the Flames several scoring opportunities. The Wings also blew three Calgary power plays until finally allowing the Flames to score on the power play on their fourth opportunity late in the third period.

“Our D-zone has been unbelievable lately,” Talbot said. “The guys do a good job blocking the middle and forcing the other team to give up the puck when they get into our zone. Once we sort out the penalties here a little bit, you’ll see the number (of opposing goals) go down even more.”

The Wings are 9-1-0 this season when scoring two or fewer goals.

“We’re going back to playing the way we should be playing,” said Lucas Raymond, who scored the winning goal in overtime. “Obviously the goal played a huge role in that. I’m not just saying this because Talbs is here, but I just think we’ve found our game. We play at a faster pace, we are at the same level and that is why we achieve good results.”

The Flames are a difficult team to play due to their aggressive game plan and ability to outwork and grind opponents for 60 minutes. But the Wings matched Calgary’s work ethic and energy.

“We play with really good structure and a high level of competition and we get rewarded for it,” Lalonde said.

Talbot is thriving

Wednesday’s victory was another steady, efficient and winning performance from Talbot, which is becoming the norm.

Talbot is 6-4-2 with a 2.47 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Talbot has allowed two fewer goals in his last eight starts.

“If we play the whole match in front of him, don’t give in to easy attacks, don’t give in to quick attacks, don’t give in to east-west formations, what he gave us was quite consistent,” Lalonde said.

Ice chips

Raymond’s overtime goal was his sixth career overtime goal, he reported Brett Hull, Gustaw Nyquist AND John Sorrell to eighth in franchise history. Raymond has scored the winning goal in each of the Wings’ last three victories.

… Alex DeBrincat on Wednesday, he opened the scoring for the Wings with a power-play goal, ending an 0-for-10 drought. Five of DeBrincat’s nine goals came on the power play.

“Our power play has been really good up until the last three games,” Raymond said. “It wasn’t like we had to come up with something new. It was just about getting back to doing what made us successful.”

… The Wings are 5-1-2 in one-goal games this season and 6-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes.

Devils in Red Wings

Overtime: 3:00 p.m. Friday, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit

TV/Radio: FSN/97.1 FM

Outlook: The Wings (10-10-2) will face the red-hot Devils (15-8-2), who have won seven of their last 10 games but are coming off a 3-0 loss to St. Louis. … The Devils excel on special teams, ranking third in power play percentage (30.3%) and fifth in penalty kill percentage (84.3%). … Wings in October, he won the first match between the teams 5:3.

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@tkulfan