DETROIT _ The Detroit Red Wings came into the season intending to shock.
And while they have managed to do just that, it hasn't been as they desired.
Ten games into the season the Wings are struggling even more than anticipated for a team that made minor changes in the offseason. A 3-1 start segued into a six-game losing streak. They went into Ottawa on Wednesday needing "two points in the worst way possible," as Dylan Larkin put it, only to play their worst game yet, against the team with the worst record in the NHL.
They return for a three-game home stand that begins Friday against the Buffalo Sabres (8-1-1), continues Sunday against the defending champion St. Louis Blues Sunday and ends in a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
The Wings were off Thursday after playing back-to-back games. News on the injury status of defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who was not available Wednesday, and forward Luke Glendening, who appeared to hurt a hand in Ottawa, should be available at Friday's morning skate.
The Wings spoke in September of how last season's 7-3 finish had instilled confidence they were a better team than deemed by oddsmakers, who picked them to finish near the bottom of the NHL. It hasn't happened.
Here are the biggest areas of disappointment:
