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Red Wings: Nedeljkovic Success is Key for Team Improvement

By Alex Faber

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 01: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Carolina Hurricanes makes a save against Ondrej Palat #18 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on June 01, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 01: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Carolina Hurricanes makes a save against Ondrej Palat #18 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on June 01, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Alex Nedeljkovic is one of the many new faces on the Detroit Red Wings roster – and he may be the most important for the team’s improvement.

Replacing Jonathan Bernier

Detroit’s Former goaltender Jonathan Bernier may not be in line to win a Vezina, but he was rock solid with the Red Wings, offering a stabilizing presence in net. Even in Detroit’s worst season in decades, he managed to hold a save percentage of .907 in 46 starts in 2019-20.

Bernier’s consistent and stellar goaltending singlehandedly willed Detroit to victory on multiple occasions. Last season, a good chunk of the improvement was due to the high level of goaltending. With the Red Wings looking to continue trending up in the rebuild, Nedeljkovic is going to need continue the trend of great goaltending.

Greiss is Inconsistent

Thomas Greiss had an extremely inconsistent year in 2020-21. For two months early in the season  (January 13th to March 13th), Greiss was one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL. His save percentage was the second worst, sitting at .883 in that stretch. Greiss also secured only one victory in that time, with only one win to 11 losses (Although one could argue that goal support was the main reason for such lowly stats).

However, Greiss did a complete 180. In the month of April, his save percentage was .947 – 2nd best in the league among goaltenders with more than 5 starts. He had only one regulation loss in that time.

Although Greiss had a strong start, his inconsistency is concerning. Nedeljkovic will likely shoulder a majority of the load, but Greiss will certainly have his starts.

Nedeljkovic is going to have a decent amount on his shoulders this year. Luckily, he’s no stranger to high pressure situations. Nedeljkovic already has nine starts in the postseason under his belt, with an impressive save percentage of 9.20 with 2.17 average goals against per game.

Bernier is a tough player to replace, but if anyone can do it, it’s the Calder cup finalist out of Carolina.

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