ST. LOUIS — After beginning the trip on a winning note, the Detroit Red Wings segued into a better outcome on the second stop.
It’s not what the players or coaching staff wants to hear, but Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center kept the Wings 29th in the NHL standings. Had they won, they would have leapfrogged the New Jersey Devils. The lower a team finishes, the better its draft lottery odds.
Thomas Vanek had a two-goal night. It was a depleted lineup that took on the playoff-positioning Blues, facilitating good looks at fresh faces.