If you're the Detroit Red Wings, you need to switch things up. It's one thing to lose three straight. That happens to the best teams out there. But when you're outscored 10-2 in those three contests, something is seriously amiss, and Todd McLellan is bright enough to attack the problem immediately at its source and do what he can to remedy it.
Following their 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks via Michael Whitaker of The Hockey News,McLellan recently said, "There will be a lot of discussions over the next few days of what we do with the units." Those changes began when the Wings injected forward Nate Danielson into the lineup, but adding Danielson alone isn't enough.
When you're struggling in every facet of the game, in every zone, you need to take a hard look at your entire lineup. Right now, teams have figured out the Red Wings, and once again, it's showing off the Wings' inability to stay ahead of the curve in November.
Maybe McLellan should approach his most seasoned veterans and give them another rough talking to, like he did following that 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. That seemed to work for a minute there. But either way, expect more than just internal discussions regarding the Red Wings' lineup.
You can't score just one goal on 46 shots, and your special teams units can't look so inept that it's nearly a guaranteed goal for opponents when you're short-handed, or a guaranteed penalty kill when you're on the power play. That was the case against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, and changes should be mandatory.
Detroit Red Wings scoring units have taken an infamous nose dive
How badly has it gone for the Red Wings scoring-wise? Before Monday night's slate of games, the Wings had scored 44 goals in 16 contests, good for just 2.75 per game, which puts them at 21st in the league.
A lot of this has to do with their 5-on-5 numbers, where they have converted just 6.6 percent of all shots on goal, two percent lower than the league average of 8.6. As for their expected goals of 32.8, the Wings have scored just 26 times at 5-on-5, showcasing how dire this situation has been getting.
Their save percentage of 0.904 is one whole percent below the league average of 0.914. That has been notable with neither John Gibson nor Cam Talbot looking as though they are the clear-cut answer in the net this season.
They have also allowed 51 goals so far, clocking them in at 22nd. Their special teams, which started off so well this season, have slipped dramatically. Their power play is below the NHL average of 20.64 percent, standing at a measly 18.87. Meanwhile, their penalty kill is sitting at 80.00, just barely above the 79.36 league average.
Right now, the news has been more doom and gloom than anything else, and chances are, Todd McLellan has also seen not just the bleak numbers shared above, but what's causing them to begin with. So count on him to make those changes.