Lineup adjustments that need to be made in an attempt to find offense

The Detroit Red Wings lost both games this weekend being outscored to the tune of 7-1. The Auston Matthews-less Maple Leafs beat Detroit 3-1 on Friday in Toronto. That was followed by a 4-0 loss at home to the New York Rangers.

The weekend was a tale of two stories: the Red Wings looked off on Friday night as they couldn't seem to string together any type of sustained offense. The puck was bouncing over sticks, and Detroit couldn't seem to complete a simple pass in stride; they just seemed collectively off. Saturday night was a much different story.

The Red Wings carried the play; quite frankly, they dominated the Rangers for the majority of the game but couldn't score. They hit multiple posts, and Jonathan Quick played like the Vezina Trophy finalist he had been numerous times through the prime of his career. The 39-year-old has posted a 3-0-0 record this season with a 1.17 goals against average and 0.964 save percentage playing sparingly behind star netminder Igor Shesterkin. Patrick Kane could/should have had a hat trick but didn't get any puck luck. Marco Kasper had a couple of grade-A chances, Alex DeBrincat hit a post, and Dylan Larkin, Detroit's top scorer, also rang the pipe. The Red Wings outshot the Rangers to the tune of 37 to 24. I repeat, the Detroit Red Wings outshot someone, and by a wide margin.

We can talk about Detroit's lack of defensive awareness, or what I have grown accustomed to calling it, a lack of overall ability. The defensive woes continued Saturday when Chris Kreider was left alone off the faceoff to easily tip home the first goal of the game just :06 into a power play. The defense pairing of Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot couldn't get things sorted out. In fairness, it seemed to be Chiarot's responsibility, but Seider vacated the area in front of the net as Kreider was entering the space with no one else around. The second goal came from Jimmy Vesey, his first of the season. Vesey was lost in coverage and beat Jonatan Berggren and Simon Edvinsson to the spot in front of the net. Albert Johansson was a healthy scratch. Again, more on this in another article soon, but Johansson should be in this lineup every day, especially following the trade of Olli Maatta. I can't pin the loss on Ville Husso, but like in the first game of the season (his only other appearance), he wasn't sharp. Husso was recalled on an emergency basis, with Alex Lyon battling a minor lower-body injury. Talbot played on Saturday in Toronto.

The Detroit Red Wings need to make some lineup adjustments in hopes of sparking the offense.

An early-season storyline this season has been Detroit's inability to create and maintain consistent offense, especially in 5-on-5 situations. The only real threat has been captain Dylan Larkin, who leads the team with nine goals and the league with six power play markers. Detroit is really missing that proven depth scoring from last season. Daniel Sprong and Robby Fabbri recorded 18 goals each a year ago; both are no longer with the organization.

Imagine that Detroit is currently the worst team in the league, generating even strength-scoring opportunities. Last season, the Red Wings finished 25th overall, allowing 668 high-danger scoring chances. This year, they've allowed the seventh least with 91, so that's been improved, but they have created just 89 of those chances, which is the third-worst to date.

The Red Wings, as a group, have combined for a Corsi For Percentage of 45.9 at even strength, which ranks 29th of 32, and their xGF (Expected goals for) is 26.0, which ranks 30th. In comparison, the league leaders in both categories are the Carolina Hurricanes (61.7 CF%) and the New Jersey Devils (37.9 xGF).

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde loves going to the blender to come up with his line combinations. For a lot of the season, the top line had been Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, and Patrick Kane. On Saturday, Lalonde swapped Raymond and Kane. Kane skated with Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher. Detroit's third unit hasn't contributed much on the scoreboard. Still, Marco Kasper between Vladimir Tarasenko and Jonatan Berggren has often been Detroit's second-best line when it comes to generating chances. Again, they've lacked finish.

In fact, take Berggren, for example. He ranks 701 with a -2.9 in goals above expected on the season. In fairness, he's just ahead of Auston Matthews, one of the best goal-scorers on the planet and just ahead of Brad Marchand and Zach Hyman. The point here is that Berggren has had a ton of scoring opportunities but hasn't been able to make them pay off. It's almost as if goals might begin to come in bunches.

Anthony Ibanez, a contributor for Octopus Thrower, recently mentioned he'd like to see a second line of Berggren and Kasper with Lucas Raymond. This makes a ton of sense. Raymond is a proven goal scorer, having buried 31 last season, albeit he's only scored once so far this season, yet he currently leads the Red Wings with 12 assists and 13 points on the season. Raymond got off to a slow start last season and then caught fire over the last 2/3 of the year. Raymond's playmaking ability and scoring history might just help Berggren and Kasper get going. Kasper has just one assist on the season but has shown plenty of burst on the offensive side and discipline in the defensive zone. I would be fine with trying this and moving Copp and Compher down with Tarasenko.

If Lalonde isn't comfortable with Kasper centering this unit, he can leave Compher there and use Copp with Kasper and Tarasenko. Compher scored a career-high 19 goals last season but has been in a slump of late, having recorded just one goal over his last nine games. I would split Copp and Compher as they have very similar skill sets and aren't exactly gelling on the same line. Moving Copp with Kasper and Tarasenko would be something to at least try. Copp is a reliable two-way forward who can play center or wing. Knowing he's a responsible forward will allow Kasper to be a bit more creative in the offensive end. Copp has recorded five goals on the season (two empty-netters) and seven points in 14 games. Tarasenko, another proven goal scorer off to a plodding start, has just two goals and three points in his first 13 games as a Red Wing.

Next up for Detroit is a date with the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.