Why the Detroit Red Wings defense is failing, and how to fix it

The Red Wings defense is bad, like really bad.

However, it may shock some of you to know that (Per MoneyPuck) the Red Wings are currently 17th in xGA and 9th in goals against at 5-on-5. Out of the 51 defensive pairings who have played at least 200 minutes together this season, the Red Wings have two pairings that meet that criteria and are top 40 in xGA/60 at 5-on-5 (200 minutes minimum), those pairings being Seider/Edvinsson, who ranks at No. 8 with a 2.06 and Chiarot/Petry who ranks at No. 40 with a 2.70.

Those 5-on-5 numbers are on par with many other defensive pairings on teams looking to challenge the cup in April. It's worth noting that most playoff teams have at least two pairings in the top 50. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils have three pairings in the top 50.

Even with those numbers, this defense still doesn't seem to work properly. In the case of the bottom four, their numbers seem to be benefiting more from the goaltending rather than their own defensive skill, with the Petry/Chiarot pairing having an xGA of 14.6 while facing worse competition than the Seider/Edvinsson pairing, who currently have an xGA of 12.8 while facing the toughest competition in the league more often than any other pairing.

So, I've taken all the defense and hockey knowledge I've acquired over the years to do my best to fix the Red Wings' current defensive issues with their current Roster.

The Red Wings Defense needs an overhaul in several places

The first thing the Red Wings need to address is the bottom four defensive pairings. We’ve all observed the current situation with the team and coaching staff in this area. Although the group may not seem impressive at first glance, there is potential for it to perform sufficiently well to achieve league-average status across all three pairings.

The first change I would make is splitting up the Petry/Chiarot pairing. It's not working; their playstyles don't even complement each other. Chiarot, being the wild card player he is, means that Petry is forced to play the defensive defenseman role, which he has never once played in his career. There's a reason for that: he's not very good at it. Chiarot, on the other hand, looks like a golden retriever chasing the puck, no matter where it is or if a teammate is already going for it. This has put him out of position more times than I can count.

After splitting them up, I would give each of them a more defensively reliable partner. For the second pairing, I would make a pairing of Chiarot and Holl. Yes, I know Justin Holl has cinderblocks for skates, but this season, he's been fairly steady, albeit pretty heavily sheltered. I feel you could increase his competition a bit more, and he would be fine. Having him next to Chiarot would allow Chiarot to do his golden retriever thing, and there would be a solid defensive presence to cover for him in the event it backfires.

Behind them, I would make a third pairing of Petry and Johansson. I know it seems a bit unfair to have a rookie take the brunt of the defensive responsibilities for his defensive pair, but this doesn't come out of nowhere. We've seen this pairing before, albeit in a small sample size. They only played just over 8 minutes together in one game, but during that time, they had an xGF% of 62.73% and a CF% of 66.67%. Johansson, while young, is more defensively reliable than at least three of the Red
Wings is a current defenseman, and I'm confident he could take on the defensive responsibilities of a third pairing. This would allow Petry to activate far more often and play to his strengths, which are primarily in the O-Zone.

Proper deployment can make a massive difference

After sorting out the new pairings, the next thing you've got to work on is deployment. Cause, boy, does it suck right now. Petry and Chiarot are getting deployed like they're stalwart defensemen. They're not, at least not together.

Chiarot is actually decent in the defensive zone along the boards, and Holl has been good at clearing the front of the Red Wings net. So it wouldn't hurt to give them their fair share of D-Zone, and neutral zone starts without needing to worry too much.

With Petry and Johansson, I would give primarily O-Zone starts. Petry has proven this season that he can hang in the O-Zone, and having a partner as defensively responsible as Johansson would allow Petry to really activate in the O-Zone. It's not like Johansson is devoid of offense, either. Johansson has a fair amount of offense in his game as well. So deploying them in the O-Zone as much as possible will give you your best chance at depth production on your blue line.

As for Erik Gustafsson, bench him and only deploy him when needed. Last season, Holl was benched for over half the season, including not playing a single game in the entire month of February. I see no reason for keeping Gustafsson in the regular lineup. Yes, he has his uses, but as it stands right now, he has not produced offensively like he was expected to, hasn't been able to run the power play adequately, and while he's gotten better defensively, he takes horrible penalties and gets totally caved nearly every time he's on the ice no matter who his partner is.

Seider and Edvinsson do not get touched ever.