from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

There are three games standing between the Detroit Red Wings and, as their captain put it, a chance to feel good headed into Christmas.

They have managed mostly to spin a pretty jolly tale the first two months of the season, showing growth in key areas such as five-on-five play and team defense. But 30 games in, they are also showing how far they have to grow, even accounting for missing key players. They take on the Washington Capitals on Monday in D.C., burdened by a five-game losing streak that disappoints all the more for tarnishinga good first six weeks to the season.

"Early in the year, we were getting the big save at the right time, the big kill, the big goal," captain Dylan Larkin said. "Right now, it’s not happening for us, and we have to find a way to get that back."

Larkin played in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators but his effectiveness was hampered by injuring his right hand when he was hit by a puck Dec. 13. At least he missed only one game. The offense the Wings had hoped to have has been curbed by losing Tyler Bertuzzi to broken-hand surgery twice, Jakub Vrana being gone for two months in the players assistance program, and Robby Fabbri recovering from off-season knee surgery.

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