The Detroit Red Wings have now lost five games straight, including two at home, before embarking on a four-game road trip. It’s no longer about making the playoffs, but salvaging a season that has been fraught with chaos and controversy.
Last night’s loss to the Florida Panthers marked the second time in which the Red Wings blew a multi-goal lead in less than two weeks. Head Coach Todd McLellan had the following to say in his post-game comments: “I don’t think we lost our poise. We lost our momentum that we worked really hard to earn in the first 40 minutes of the game. A team like that, that’s won cups recently and has that type of cache, they take advantage of that, and we’re still learning how to deal with it.” As has been the case with a majority of matchups so far this season, coming close doesn’t cut it; the team needs to find ways to finish.
Plugging The Positional Holes
It’s no secret that the Detroit Red Wings are hurting for depth at Center. While Marco Kasper has shown promising two-way play since his return from injury on Tuesday and Emmitt Finnie seems to be handling his new role with confidence, a true 1C has yet to emerge in Dylan Larkin’s absence. It’s widely thought that the Wings will need to look outside of their current roster for this, though the 10 teams on Larkin’s trade list aren’t necessarily willing to give one up at this point.
Simon Edvinsson’s absence can also be heavily felt. Second in average ice time per game, only to Moritz Seider, the left-shot defenseman and his partner were one of the top pairings in the league before the Red Wings’ centennial season took a nosedive earlier this year. With the December 1st deadline quickly approaching and Edvinsson adamant about being traded, they may very well have played their last game together.
Special Teams
Detroit’s Powerplay has struggled to convert over the last four games and currently has them ranked 18th overall at 20.6%. Viktor Arvidsson made his net-front presence known early on in this campaign, but has since cooled off. He hasn’t scored a powerplay goal since October 26th against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Wings’ Penalty Kill has seen its share of ups and downs over the first 20 games of the season, though it has shown some potential to improve of late. At 70.5%, it’s presently sixth-worst overall.
Goaltending
Starting goaltender John Gibson has floundered in net. At this point in time, he sits at an .862 save percentage and has given up 41 goals in 13 games. Provided he didn’t find his footing until December of last year, there’s hope yet.
On the other hand, Daniil Tarasov has been one of the lone bright spots on the team, boasting a .919 save percentage that lands him ninth in the league. His goals against average is even better, at 2.10 and eighth overall.
Looking Ahead
It remains to be seen if, how, and when the Red Wings will bounce back. They’ll encounter a couple of tough matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins before their schedule takes a bit of an easier turn toward more winnable contests.
Detroit Red Wings: Stopping The Skid