Mike Babcock-12-7-14

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock likes the direction this team is headed, and might just decide to stick around past this season.

(The Associated Press)

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings were being written off in many circles after failing to upgrade their roster through free agency or trade in the off-season.

Soring depth was an issue, the defense supposedly wasn't good enough, goaltender Jimmy Howard's inconsistency raised concerns, and the core is aging.

Their lengthy playoff streak appeared in serious jeopardy.

Two months into season, it turns out the sky isn't falling. It appears the sky's the limit with a team that is on the rise.

The Red Wings (17-6-5) were tied for the most points (39) in the Eastern Conference with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay before Tuesday's games, just two points behind league-leader Anaheim.

Coach Mike Babcock is extremely bullish on this team's future, which might prompt him to stick around after his contract expires following the season.

"They (the team's veterans) have been here through the good times and the slower times and now they see our team on the climb again," Babcock said. "This is the best team we've had here since '09, not necessarily point-wise, but direction-wise. We have more players that are hungry and going in the right direction than we have in a long time."

The Red Wings ranked second in the NHL in man-games lost to injury in 2013-14, losing many key players, like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, for long stretches. They still managed to make the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive season.

Players don't believe they are overachieving this season, they believe their record is legitimate.

"Just seeing what we went through last year and how we still competed, we were able to scratch and claw our way into the playoffs," Howard said. "So we felt if we had everyone healthy and we were all pulling in the same direction that we could get off to a start like this."

Forward Gustav Nyquist said they never doubted themselves.

"We knew we had a good team and I think we've proven to be a pretty good team so far," Nyquist said. "Especially when we have the big guys healthy at the same time, Pav and Hank, that means a lot to have those guys on the ice each and every night."

The Red Wings also were in good shape after 28 games last season at 14-7-7 (35 points). Then they went 1-5-2 in their next eight games and injuries began to mount.

Barring another disastrous stretch of bad health, Babcock believes this team has staying power.

"Confidence is a big thing; if you get to feeling good about yourself and get used to winning and expect to win that becomes the standard for you," Babcock said. "That's what we're trying to do. That's what good teams do. They expect to win. They prepare to win. They play hard enough to win and in the end they do win."

The Red Wings continue to be led by their best players (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall), who were expected to flourish if healthy. The key has been strong play from younger players who emerged last season (Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan, Tomas Jurco). They're only going to get better.

"I still think we have lots of growth and potential in this group," Babcock said. "That's our job, to turn these young kids into good pros.

"It's important that Tatar becomes a good pro, Nyquist becomes a good pro, (Luke) Glendening becomes a good pro, the same with (Brendan) Smith and (Danny) DeKeyser."

The best teams have a lot of depth and internal competition. That's what Babcock is seeing.

"When you have people coming back you say to yourself 'I better play well,' " Babcock said. "That's way better than any coach talking to you."

The veterans are expressing caution. The Red Wings are capitalizing on a favorable schedule. It gets much tougher after the New Year. They'll play 17 of 23 games on the road starting on Jan. 3.

"All in all, I think we're off to a pretty good start," Kronwall said. "But at the same time, I still think there's some work to be done. I still think that we can play even more solid over the course of 60 minutes. Taking care of the puck a lot better in our own zone is one area we're trying to improve."

Zetterberg said the team needs to be more consistent.

"We're doing a lot of good things for part of the games and then our lows are a little bit too low," Zetterberg said. "We got to raise that level and be more consistent and we'll be a lot better team."

Once again, reports of their demise are proving to be greatly exaggerated.

"I know some (people) were saying that we don't have a shot for a playoff (spot), but I'm surprised you can say it with the big names in this locker room," Tatar said. "If we stay healthy we might actually have a shot at the (Stanley) Cup."

-- Download the Detroit Red Wings on MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Follow Ansar Khan and Brendan Savage on Twitter

-- Like MLive's Detroit Red Wings Facebook page