We knew the Red Wings had gone from bad to worse in March, but this futility started in the last week of February when the 4 Nations Face-Off ended. And you won’t believe just how poorly this Red Wings team has fared since play resumed when you see the raw numbers.
But let me share what analyst Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press wrote recently, and it’ll shed some light on just how bleak everything has been for your favorite hockey team.
Here’s how St. James worded it: “Not enough describes the Wings: Not enough skill, not enough grit, not enough to succeed in the grueling time of year that is the NHL's stretch run. Since the league emerged from the Four Nations break on Feb. 22, the Wings have gone 5-10-1. They haven't won consecutive games since Feb. 23-25. At 72 points and with 11 games left, they can max out at 94 points – and that's with winning out the season, which isn't going to happen.”
Yeah, it’s hard to sum it up any better than that. But if you want even more raw data, it gets way, way worse following what was yet another disheartening loss, this time to the Colorado Avalanche.
Red Wings performance since the 4 Nations has been outright horrid
Alright, so the Wings have played in 16 games since the 4 Nations Face-Off ended, which is roughly equivalent to one-fifth of the regular season. In that span, they’ve scored just 45 goals, once again highlighting the offensive struggles that have haunted them one too many times this season.
In 16 games, 45 goals scored equate to 2.81 per contest, so unless they can deny opponents some goals, they’re likely not winning often. And through those 16 matchups, the Wings have allowed 56 goals or 3.5 per game, nearly 0.7 more against than they’ve scored.
While their power play has been a solid 14 of 42, good for a 33 conversion percentage, their penalty kill has been dreadful in every sense of the word. They’ve allowed 12 goals in that span on the PK, through 33 opportunities. This means they’ve only succeeded 63.6 percent of the time at 4-on-5.
The Red Wings have struggled all over the ice and it’s why they’ll see 82 games
The worst part of this is, they’ve taken a respectable 466 shots on goal, or about 29.1 per game, so it’s not like they haven’t been giving themselves good looks. On the flip side, the Wings have allowed 426, or 26.6 per contest, an astronomically low number.
This tells me the Wings have been caught out of position far too often, and opponents are just waiting for the right time to drill the puck home. Overall disheartening play is pushing this team out of the playoff race, and don’t believe for a second that they’re climbing back into the picture unless they play perfect hockey.
But right now, we have a better chance of seeing a pair of No. 2 teams currently slated as wild cards this postseason meeting in the Stanley Cup Final than we do of the Wings playing a perfect game for a stretch. Hey, this is a hole they dug themselves into, and it’s up to them if they’re interested in earning back a little respect.