The Detroit Red Wings stole a thrilling shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. But one major defensive weakness lingers.
Detroit’s penalty kill suffered yet another poor performance. Detroit found itself on the penalty kill six times and allowed two goals. The first came at the 17:59 mark of the first period, when Dmitry Orlov tied the game 1-1 with assists from Ivar Stenberg and Macklin Celebrini.
The next one came at the 2:48 mark in the third period when Stenberg gave San Jose a 3-1 lead with helpers from Alex Wennberg and Celebrini. With Stenberg’s goal, the Sharks seemingly put the game away. But Emmitt Finnie and Alex DeBrincat scored at the 5:00 and 18:27 marks, ensuring the game would go to overtime.
While the Red Wings stepped up and did enough to sneak away with a 4-3 win, the PK unit made life tough for Detroit, and the Sharks took advantage. The penalty kill has been so bad for Detroit this season that it’s threatening to lose them games, as was the case on Saturday.
Penalty Kill Is The Red Wings’ Biggest Defensive Weakness
The Red Wings have allowed 23 goals this season, which ranks 11th in the NHL. That’s a strong number, but the penalty kill has been responsible for allowing nine of those goals. Therefore, 39.1 percent of all goals the Red Wings allowed this season have occurred on the penalty kill.
Detroit’s PK unit has had 29 opportunities to stifle opposing power-play units. They have been successful 68.97 percent of the time. That’s over 10 percent below the NHL average of 79.33 percent, and it ranks 28th in the NHL.
It’s still early enough in the season for the Red Wings to turn things around on the penalty kill. But they are also an extraordinary case. Remember, the 2024-25 Red Wings had one of the worst single-season PK units in NHL history, when they were successful just 70.1 percent of the time.
If Detroit keeps up this pace, the penalty kill will keep holding the team back like it did two seasons ago.
Detroit’s 5-on-5 Game Is Saving The Team Early In The Season
While the Red Wings are still having a tough time finding the net at 5-on-5, their defensive play is another story. Detroit’s save percentage is an incredible .929. While John Gibson has been up-and-down, he and Daniil Tarasov have done well enough backstopping for the Red Wings. That said, a .929 save percentage implies the entire team is holding its own.
Detroit’s expected goals allowed (xGA) at 5-on-5 is an impressive 13.9, well above the NHL average of 17.3. They have allowed just 12 goals at 5-on-5, or 52.1 percent of their total number of goals allowed.
Detroit’s stellar defensive play has led to more scoring chances. The Red Wings have a 52.5 Corsi For Percentage, a 52.7 Scoring Chances For Percentage, and a 59.2 High-Danger Chances For Percentage. While they must start converting more of those chances into goals, the Red Wings are doing enough defensively at 5-on-5 to give themselves a shot to win.
Detroit’s incredible defensive 5-on-5 numbers, though, further show how much its penalty kill has hurt. If the Red Wings can improve their penalty kill while maintaining their 5-on-5 play, they will surprise a lot of naysayers. But they must fix their PK unit if they’re going to maximize their chances of contending.
Red Wings’ Biggest Defensive Weakness Exposed In Win Over Sharks