Detroit Red Wings: Anthony Mantha Needs to Fuel The Engine

Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha showed off his excellent wrist shot again in a big way, but we need to see it more often.

The big power forward is often found skating around with his mouth guard half hanging out of his mouth looking for an opportunity to unleash his wicked wrist shot.  The Detroit Red Wings trailed by two goals entering the third period Saturday night in Carolina when Mantha found paydirt twice in a three-minute span to knot the game up at three.

The game would stay that way until the skills competition, where Frans Nielsen was the lone goal scorer during the shootout.  The victory would be the first time in the rich history of the Detroit Red Wings they would come from behind by two goals to win in three consecutive games.

Anthony Mantha has found himself up and down the lineup throughout the season.  He started off the season alongside of Dylan Larkin and had also played on the fourth line struggling to find 10 minutes of work a night.

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He has struggled to find consistency at times until of late. He is back on Dylan Larkin’s right-wing and with Darren Helm skating on the left-side they trio have found some chemistry again.  It is nothing new, the three of them skated near the end of last season together, and it seemed to work.

Darren Helm is not exactly a top line NHL player, but it works.  He is very reliable defensively, and that goes for Larkin as well.  Mantha’s defensive abilities are absolutely not his strong suit.  With the other pair being so reliable it should free Mantha up to focus on getting a consistent forecheck and more offensive looks.

Mantha seems to create the majority of his chances off the rush.  Whether it is Dylan Larkin pushing down the middle of the ice, backing off defenders and looking to defer to Mantha.  Perhaps similar to Saturday night, it is Mantha gaining the zone with possession and ripping it past goaltenders himself.

He was able to play over 20 minutes Saturday night, the second largest amount only to Dylan Larkin.  I say “able” to play because he has often found himself in his head coaches dog house. He earned himself minutes before scoring the pair of goals in the third period by being active on the puck, banging the body when the opportunity arose and kept his feet moving rather than looking like a statue as he does at times.

Jeff Blashill picked up on Mantha’s effort and continued to roll him out onto the ice.  It was similar to what Jeff has done with Justin Abdelkader who has found some success of late.  Blashill noticed 8 was feeling it and continued to play him.

As much as we harp on Jeff Blashill, and for good reason.  We need to give him credit when credit is due.  They are oddly enough winning a lot of games of late.  Six over the last seven to be exact.  Many times are relying on tremendous goaltender play, but a win is a win.

We need to see that same continued effort we saw Saturday from Anthony Mantha moving forward.  He needs to start playing with the edge and finding more frequent opportunities to let that shot go on goal. He needs to show up to the rink with a full tank of fuel and put the peddle to the metal during the game.  So far this season Mantha has recorded 5 goals and 2 assists through the first 17 games.  He is also unfortunately a minus 11.