Red Wings 5 on 5: Jeff Blashill, Breaking Down The Power Play

This week’s 5 on 5—five questions about five Detroit Red Wings issues, focuses on the power play  (with video!) and what options really exist if Jeff Blashill is removed. 

So four losses in a row. Here we go again, right? 

Out of the last four games, the Red Wings were really only competitive in Tuesday’s game where they forced overtime and wrestled a point out of it. Last night’s game was a tease where the Wings rallied for two goals and then the bottom fell out after the Luke Glendening penalty. The Chicago series was hopefully the lowest point of the season.

So is Jeff Blashill’s job security going to be coming up on a weekly basis? What is the story here? 

All things considered, you have a situation where the team looks like its spinning its wheels for 40-45 minutes each game. This leads to consternation within a fanbase that is getting fatigued from four consecutive seasons of watching the same tired results on repeat. Blashill will ultimately be judged on progress rather than wins and losses–as it came directly from Steve Yzerman. But over the course of the last four games, the progress has stalled, and dipped in some respects. Which brings up the next question:

If Blashill does go, is it really fair to think that Dan Bylsma will be an upgrade? 

Nope. This is why I can’t see Blashill being let go any time during the season unless we’re back in  blowout mode which we saw a year ago. Bylsma is in charge of the power play, and if you’ve been watching, that really doesn’t provide any sort of optimism when it comes to him running the show as the bench boss. I know that there’s a lot of Wings fans who want some sort of accountability, but at this point, there’s no one to replace him with unless you go outside the organization. I don’t see Gerard Gallant coming in here because he’s more of a veteran player’s coach–one tasked to take over when a team is ready for deeper playoff runs. And I also don’t think Chris Ilitch is going to pay a new coach while an existing contract runs out.

Since we’re on it, how about that power play? 

My cousin texted me last night and summed it up well: “There is very little movement and they glide to a spot, stay there, and move the puck around, hoping something good happens.” The video below is set at the Wings’ lone goal on the power play:

So if you watch the entry, it’s once again Dylan Larkin pulling it off. He’s one of the few–if not the only player on this team, that can consistently carry it into the zone—without the puck being taken and cleared immediately. He gets it to Filip Hronek, who fires one of his patented long shots on net. The good news here is that you have two players low (Tyler Bertuzzi and Michael Rasmussen) which is exactly what this team should be doing if they’re going to INSIST on shooting from the point. Bertuzzi initially sets up net front (5:12-5:13) and Rasmussen curls from the boards to the left of Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger (5:14 – 5:16). Hronek fires at the 5:17 mark and Rasmussen chops it to Bertuzzi who slams it home out of mid-air. This only happens because both were in tight. In my opinion this setup is Detroit’s best chance of scoring and needs to be executed more often.

So what’s best case scenario heading into the weekend? 

Detroit avoids blow outs. This losing streak in terms of confidence can’t hit six games–it just can’t. With two games on familiar ice, this is where the Red Wings have to show some resolve. After the last four games, I just can’t shake the feeling that this is going to be similar returns as last year in terms of record. They might keep the scores closer, but they lack the scoring and skill to compete with mediocre teams or better.