It’s been three games and three losses for the Detroit Red Wings, who disappointed on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out Little Caesars Arena crowd against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Not only did the Red Wings once again not convert on multiple scoring opportunities, but they badly lost the special teams battle. The Blackhawks scored on all three power-play opportunities, while the Red Wings failed to do so on all five of their chances.
Perhaps the biggest turning point of the afternoon was when the Red Wings barely generated any sustained offensive zone pressure during a four-minute power-play chance near the end of the game’s middle frame.
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Not only has Detroit’s power-play slipped to the middle of the pack in the NHL, but their penalty killing, which had been vastly improved in the early goings of the campaign, has now also begun to sputter.
“A game ago, we got scored on once and it was a back-check and a sort out,” head coach Todd McLellan said about the goals Detroit surrendered while shorthandedl. “That can’t happen. The first goal, we had a clearing opportunity with a two-on-one, and we didn’t get it out.”
“The third power-play goal, a walkout from below the goal line, we have the tools to take care of that and we just didn’t get it done,” he continued. “Much like our game right now where our power-play is scrambling, our penalty kill needs a polish up.”
The Red Wings have now scored just two goals in their last three combined games, which included a shutout loss against the powerful Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City.
They had no shortage of opportunities on Sunday with a total of 45 shots, but many of them were from distance and unscreened that goaltender Arvid Soderblom had no trouble with.
Is putting an emphasis on scoring the greasy, garbage-style goals in close proximity to the net the cure for what ails Detroit right now?
“You’d like to think so, but it has to happen first and then we’ll see,” McLellan said. “Weâ€ve always been a pretty good entry team, make the plays and score off them. Those chances we can create. Itâ€s the grind time, itâ€s the cycle time, itâ€s the grunt time, if you want to put it that way, where you really gotta dig in. We need to be better in those areas.â€
One notable lineup switch that the Red Wings made before Sunday’s game was the NHL debut of 2023 first-round draft pick Nate Danielson, who likely would have made the roster out of Training Camp had it not been for an injury.
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Will there be additional changes prior to Thursday’s contest? Don’t be surprised, according to McLellan.
“There will be a lot of discussions over the next few days of what we do with the units,†McLellan said.
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