Jonatan Berggren finally bucked his 19-game goal-less stretch this past Wednesday in Pittsburgh with a beautiful finish on a pass from linemate Vladimir Tarasenko. Defenseman Jeff Petry drew the second assist on the goal.
As mentioned multiple times across Octopus Thrower from various authors over the past few weeks, Berggren looks like a different player than he did during his short stints over the past couple of seasons. Early on in his career, he seemed to be gripping the stick too hard and was playing tense, or playing not to make a mistake rather than having the confidence to play his game loose and confident. It was evident that he lacked confidence, and you could see that simply through his body language.
This season has been different for the 24-year-old Swedish-born winger. Although he hasn't lit the lamp nearly as much as we'd like, he's been playing with a lot more confidence and conviction. In years past, at the NHL level at least, it seemed Berggren was overmatched in those 50/50 puck battles, seeming to lose 80% of them. That is a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is he was definitely losing far more of those than he was winning. This season has been a bit different; he seems to come away with possession of the puck more times than not in those same situations.
Despite their collective offensive struggles, that third line of Marco Kasper, Tarasenko, and Berggren is often Detroit's second-best unit despite their collective offensive struggles. At the site, we've continued to mention that it's only a matter of time before the offensive outburst occurs. That group spends a lot of time in the offensive zone and has, to my surprise, been very reliable on the defensive end. That line has combined for three goals and seven points on the season. Again, it's not good enough, but it appears as though they are about to break out.
It's only a matter of time before Detroit Red Wings rookie Marco Kasper finds the offense.
Similar to Berggren, rookie center Marco Kasper has been noticeable each night but hasn't been able to find the back of the net. When you watch that third line go to work, you can see the chemistry is there, and they're creating a good amount of scoring chances, but the puck hasn't gone in nearly enough.
Heading into Friday night's contest with the Ducks, Kasper has recorded just one assist over 11 games on the season. He's maintaining a Corsi For Percentage of 43.6 which isn't great, but he's a plus-2 and averaging just over 15 minutes per night. Kasper also currently owns a xGF (Expected Goals For) of 6.0 and xGA of 6.1 on the young season.
It's a bit of a mystery that he hasn't found twine in his young career (12 total NHL games), but I wouldn't expect that drought to continue much longer. Kasper is committed to doing the little things to help the team win, like being the reliable 200-foot center Steve Yzerman knew he was getting when he drafted him 8th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Level Draft.
"You always want to score," Kasper said. "We haven’t gotten the results, but we’re trying to work hard every day. If you don’t score, just make the right things, do the stuff you can so you can help the team. I’m just trying to do my best whenever I get out there."
Head coach Derek Lalonde understands that Kasper is learning on the fly. The Red Wings started the young center in Grand Rapids but quickly recalled him when injuries and the flu bug hit the team early on, and he's stuck ever since. When Compher was sidelined for a couple of games it was Kasper elevated to fill the void, not Andrew Copp moving to center with Tarasenko moved up to skate opposite Patrick Kane. That decision alone was quite telling and proves how much Detroit thinks of Kasper.
"It's part of that developing on the fly," Lalonde said. "He’s helping our group but you still have to develop them. But, his hockey sense is great, he has great awareness. What I like about a player like that is his willingness to get better – after every game, he wants more information, he’s seeking more, he’s seeking touches."
Last season, Kasper recorded 14 goals and 35 points over 71 games with the Grand Rapids, his first season in North America. I know it isn't a stat that carries much weight anymore, but he did maintain a plus-9 rating. Kasper enjoyed a very fruitful postseason with the Griffins last year, notching four goals and seven points in nine contests.