Over the first quarter of the season, it's become evident that the Detroit Red Wings are missing something. Well, the truth is, they are missing multiple things. It's been a rough go early on. Head coach Derek Lalonde is certainly on the hot seat, and if a change is made, assistant coach Bob Boughner and his league-worst penalty kill likely isn't far behind.
Alex Tanguay runs the forwards and has done a great job with Detroit's power play, but he hasn't gotten much offense out of the group at even strength. It's difficult to blame the assistant coaches for Detroit's lack of five-on-five ability not really knowing how much of an influence they have on in-game decisions. What we do know is that Boughner runs the penalty kill, and Tanguay has full control of the power play. One of those special teams is really good, perhaps overachieving; the other is hot dog water.
I am not going to breakdown the entire game, I'll leave that to Anthony Ibanez, but there are a few glaring issues I noticed on Friday afternoon. Well, not just Friday, but I've elected to highlight at least three of them right now.
The Detroit Red Wings need to sort out their penalty kill
I've already called it hot dog water; what else do you want from me? The Detroit Red Wings took a league-worst penalty kill into the game on Friday, operating at just 68%, over 10% worse than the league average, and gave up a whopping three more power play goals on four opportunities to New Jersey. That's easy enough math, and even I can figure out that 25% kill rate isn't going to cut it. How can that be possible when both Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have performed above-average in goal?
You're not operating this poorly because of one player or one coach. It's a collective effort or lack thereof, but Ben Chiarot isn't doing anyone any favors. The Red Wings continue to roll out their veteran defenseman, often playing like Detroit's third-best option, yet he's by far their worst performer. More on this soon, in its own article, but something needs to change. If Boughner does indeed have full control of the penalty kill, how can his superior allow him to continue rolling out the same players who continue to fail this deep into the season and expect different results?
The Red Wings recently acquired Tyler Motte, who offers minimal offensive contributions but was brought in to strengthen their penalty kill. However, this strategy does not seem to be working. Detroit has a plethora of so-called two-way forwards, including Motte, Michael Rasmussen, J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Christian Fischer, and Joe Veleno. This group has managed to score a combined total of just 14 goals this season. In contrast, the trio of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, and Lucas Raymond has netted 28 goals between them. While it’s understandable that Larkin, DeBrincat, and Raymond are expected to be the primary scorers, the first group needs to contribute offensively, especially from the bottom six. If they are not effective on special teams (specifically the penalty kill) and are rarely generating scoring chances, one must question their value to the team. Sometimes, players, coaches, and managers need to take a hard look in the mirror to find solutions.
On the backend, the Red Wings need to rely on Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson even more
This was hard to type knowing how many 'hard' minutes this top pairing in Detroit is already asked to play, but the Red Wings need to rely on their top two defenders even more, well, because they have no other choice. Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson play a ton and are used as Detroit's top penalty-killing option. Seider also plays on the power play, and I've been lobbying for Edvinsson to see some time at the point with the man advantage, too.
The 6-foot-6 defender has shown some great vision, excellent creativity, and skating ability when joining the rush; he'd add something to an already successful power play unit when they'd like a left-handed shot up top. When you look around the league, top defenders like Cale Makar usually play 25 minutes per night; Edvinsson and Seider have young legs and should be able to handle the two or three minutes extra at this juncture of their careers, and the more minutes they play, the less Detroit asks of their bottom-four. In fairness, Seider is averaging just over 24 per game, but Edvinsson is at 21, with Chiarot 12 seconds behind on average.
Back to the penalty kill. After that top defense pairing comes off, Detroit usually goes to Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry. It's time to try something else; Chiarot is lost far too often in the defensive zone and takes too many chances in the neutral zone and offensive blue line, leaving his partner in an awful position. He drifts away from his assignment more than any veteran player I've seen in years. Basically, what I am saying is Petry isn't as bad as you make him out to be, but Chiarot is every bit as bad as you think, and then some.
During Friday's game, Petry blocked a cannon of a shot during a penalty kill, ironically, with Chiarot in the box serving a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Petry needed to miss a few shifts after the block but was able to return to the game. Upon his return, he was paired with rookie Albert Johansson, and the two looked pretty efficient. I'd like to see that pairing for a full game playing second pairing minutes leaving Justin Holl and Ben Chiarot as the third unit. If Detroit's top pairing can play 25 minutes per night, that will allow Petry and Johansson to settle in around 18 or 19 minutes and the third pairing 16-ish against lower competition.
The Detroit Red Wings are missing a board-worker in their top-six
One thing the Detroit Red Wings are clearly missing up front, especially in their top-six, is a board worker with scoring ability. I never realized how much David Perron or Tyler Bertuzzi meant to the Detroit Red Wings until now. Detroit is really missing someone who can effectively win those 50/50 board battles in the offensive zone and chip in with some timely goals.
Recently, head coach Derek Lalonde has elevated Vladimir Tarasenko to the top line opposite Lucas Raymond and centered by Dylan Larkin. Tarasenko is a proven scorer despite being off to a slow start, but he's best suited in a depth role. Although the results hadn't come like we'd hoped, Tarasenko playing with Marco Kasper, and Jonatan Berggren for the majority of the first six weeks of the year made for a very reliable third line. I'd like to see that unit reunited, but with Patrick Kane nursing an injury, and nobody else to play on the top unit leaves Lalonde a bit handcuffed.
If the Detroit Red Wings had a player like Perron or Bertuzzi to pair with Larkin and Raymond, or Larkin and DeBrincat, it would allow the team to field a second unit featuring Compher or Kasper alongside Kane (when he’s healthy) and either DeBrincat or Raymond. The Red Wings could easily interchange Kasper and Compher, as both have played as the second-line center this season. Currently, I prefer Kasper, but I also see him fitting well on the third line.
With Kane injured, the Red Wings have placed Motte on the second line with DeBrincat and Compher, but he really should not be skating on the second line for an entire game. This situation has left Lalonde with little choice but to insert Veleno alongside Kasper and Berggren, which is another less-than-ideal option. Clearly, the available choices are limited.
Detroit's checking line, consisting of Fischer, Rasmussen, and Copp, serves its purpose, but we need to acknowledge that this is all they offer. The Red Wings are also in desperate need of speed. While two-way forwards are always important, it appears that Yzerman has focused too heavily on this aspect, resulting in a team that now lacks both speed and creativity in the offensive zone. Yzerman may prefer winning games with scores like 3-2, but in today's NHL, this approach is unsustainable. It's time for him to reevaluate his player management strategy.
Ultimately, Yzerman needs to identify a way to enhance the team’s offense. It may be time to call up Nate Danielson and Amadeus Lombardi sooner than expected. If that isn’t viable, Yzerman should start exploring trade options to strengthen the current roster.