The Detroit Red Wings Are Off To A Great Start

Don't look now, but the Detroit Red Wings are on absolute fire! Yes, I know, it's only October, and Stanley Cups aren't won now, but this team is clicking and off to a fantastic start.

Let's start with the top line. Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat have been a wagon! Especially the "Cat". In just 6 games played, DeBrincat has got 8 goals, including a hat trick over the weekend, and 4 assists to lead the NHL in scoring. That line has been nearly unstoppable.

After losing the first game of the season, the Wings have put up five W's since. It's been fun to watch veterans like David Perron, Shayne Gostisbehere, Joe Veleno, and others look like they're having fun shift after shift.

During an interview on national television last week, GM Steve Yzerman was vague when asked about expectations for this squad. He mentioned showing progress, the younger guys taking a bigger role, and a team that can not only make the playoffs but continually do it. He was also asked about the number of Michigan-born players on the team. While that wasn't something he looks at when bringing in talent, he said it doesn't hurt. Personally, I think there's a huge pride factor in playing in your hometown, or home state. As much as a Larkin-led team hasn't had much success yet, you can never doubt that he's very proud to play for his favorite childhood hockey team. I think DeBrincat has the same feeling, as do Jeff Petry and Andrew Copp.

As one of my friends from out-of-state said to me, he said they're fun to watch and aggressive. I'd say so far in the young season, that's an accurate description of the current team. They seem to be playing for each other and with a certain chip on their shoulder.

It's been a long time since we've seen a playoff team here in Hockeytown, but maybe this is the year we claw our way back into the postseason. I've said it before, in my opinion, we HAVE to make the playoffs this year. Yzerman has had time to put his pieces in place and there are no excuses. Hell, half the teams in the NHL make the playoffs! We NEED to be back in the mix. At this point, I'm not too concerned about competing for a Cup just yet, but there must be games in the LCA after the regular season ends.

So far, so good!

Lets Go Red Wings!

-Meltdown-

What a great alumni game in Fraser Saturday night! The Boston Bruins alumni took on the Red Wings alumni for charity as Big Boy arena. Legends like Mickey Redmond, Rick Middleton, Red Berenson, Kenny "the rat" Linseman, Darren McCarty, Larry Murphy, Dino Ciccarelli, Joe Mullen, John Wensick, and lots more, were on hand to put on a great show for the fans.

For more info on the charities involved, punch up the link here.

The final score was the Bruins 8, the Wings 7. The game started off a little slow with each team feeling charitable, but as crunch time came near the end of the game, young horses like Darren Helm, Jakub Kindl, Danny DeKeyser and others started forcing the play. It was all a little too late, as Boston took home the trophy.

For me personally, it was great to see some of these legends, on and off the ice. Some of these guys brought back childhood memories of watching them play when I was a youth hockey player. A special thanks to Joe Neville for asking me to take part. I LOVED working with my friends Ben Holden and Sean Baligian. I've known those guys for years, but never had the chance to work with those two pros. The after party at Ciccarelli's was outstanding. Also, thanks to the crew of The Prep for all their hard work!

Check out some pictures of the game below...

-Meltdown-

https://wrif.com/shows/meltdown-on-wrif/