The Detroit Red Wings may have put up five goals against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, but they finished the game with just 21 shots on net. That said, the Wings were lucky to score five times and to catch Leevi Merilainen and Hunter Shepard when they both had bad nights.
But the Wings can't expect to score five times every time they struggle through a lackluster evening shooting the puck. Detroit has the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, and Boston Bruins coming up, and all four teams have seen solid play in the net.
This leaves them with an ultimatum: Figure out how to shoot the puck consistently, or hope that John Gibson and Cam Talbot are holding down the fort well enough that they can keep the game manageable.
Detroit Red Wings' shooting woes are worse than you think
Since Dec. 6, the Wings have averaged 25.2 shots on goal per game. While they are 11-4-1 in that span and have averaged 3.1 goals per game, it's not feasible to keep playing such conservative hockey when the playoff race heats up.
Things have gotten even worse over the first three games of the new calendar year, where Detroit has averaged a sickening 19.7 shots on goal per game. To make matters worse, they're having a tough time stopping opponents, who are averaging 33.3 shots on goal per contest.
Games are about to become more intense as the stakes get higher with the playoff race fast approaching, especially against division rivals like the Bruins and Canadiens. The sooner the Red Wings fix this issue, the greater their chances will be of maintaining their lead in the Atlantic Division, or at least staying within striking distance of the lead.
Red Wings need to start playing a better brand of hockey
Getting pucks to the net when you're one of the top teams in the conference with elite scorers like Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, and Lucas Raymond shouldn't be difficult. Detroit needs to start creating more chaos around the net, freeing up their top scorers to get open in front of or near the net, fire the crease, and score off tip-ins or deflections.
Detroit has players capable of getting the puck to the net at the blue line, like Moritz Seider. While Seider has evolved into one of the league's top defensemen and is doing his job with 100 shots on goal this season, second-year defenseman Simon Edvinsson needs to step it up. He has just 53 shots on goal this season across 44 games.
Further, rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka needs to take more advantage when he's on the ice. Sandin-Pellikka has also appeared in all 44 games, but has just 45 shots on goal. The Red Wings as a unit need to step up. But if they don't start creating viable shooting lanes and if their key blueliners don't fire the puck more, don't expect this disturbing trend to stop anytime soon.