The Red Wings have played six games; here is the Good, Bad, and Ugly.
The Good
Yes, there has been some good despite the 1-3-2 record for the Detroit Red Wings. Let’s take a look at what has gone well.
Overall compete level and battle considering all the off-ice noise
It is not the players’ fault (other than maybe Dylan Larkin), but this team has had to deal with a lot of outside noise off the ice. Though I also can’t necessarily completely blame Larkin. This franchise has not progressed or shown signs of a plan to improve soon.
They have only won one game; that is, at the end of the day, all that matters. They have a lot of youth on this team. In the Seattle game alone, William Wallinder and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård scored their first career goals. In the game against the New Jersey Devils, Anton Johansson recorded his first career point. Point being, they have a lot of players that haven’t been in the NHL long (eleven players under the age of 25 on the initial announced roster), and they have been in most games; the physicality and overall compete has been better than I expected.
Meanwhile, every single day, this young team is dealing with answering questions on Larkin, Simon Edvinsson, and not having a permanent general manager.
Emmitt Finnie and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård
Finnie is a player that the Red Wings need to mature and play an important role early. He has stepped up, logging around 16 minutes a game and also playing on both the power play and penalty kill. He is quickly becoming an important two-way player.
The 21-year-old has seen time as the second line center with Alex DeBrincat, and that is a lot to ask at that age. He has two goals and one assist in six games; importantly, he has a +6 plus/minus so far this season, tied for second best on the entire team with Brandsegg-Nygård and only behind DeBrincat.
The Red Wings would love to see his name on the scoresheet, but playing defense and preventing goals is a part of the equation as well. That is a great sign for the young forward that has taken on a lot of responsibility early.
Brandsegg-Nygård is really getting his first extended taste of the NHL level this season. He played fourteen games in separate stretches last season but never played more than 15 minutes in a game. This season, he already has three games of over 15 minutes and two games at 19 minutes or over.
Another 21-year-old that has produced early for the Red Wings. Along with his aforementioned +6 rating, he has scored two goals and has three assists, totaling five points in six games. He also has been on the second line with Finnie and DeBrincat, seeing important minutes with the responsibility to produce.
He may not keep up with the close to a point a game production, but to see the results early shows that he has the ability to mature into a very important player going forward.
Signing Alex DeBrincat
Signing DeBrincat is an important win for the Red Wings on and off the ice. The front office showed it will pay market value for their own players, kept their best goal scorer, and sent a message to fans that they are at least trying.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a long road ahead. They still have to figure out what is going on with Edvinsson and Larkin; however, this is a good first step.
They announced that they have signed DeBrincat to a seven-year, $91 million contract. He is coming off of a 41-goal and 44-assist, 85-point season. This season, he already has four goals and four assists in six games.
The Bad
With the record at 1-3-2, there is plenty that needs to improve. Here are a few things I have seen that need work.
Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp
Copp has had trouble early. He is averaging 19:33 minutes a game, three minutes more than last season. He already has been moved to third-line center. He has no goals, one assist, and he is a team-worst -5 on the season.
Last season, Copp had nine goals and 34 assists. While that isn’t a lot, he is even much behind that pace. He also was a +3 last season. They need more out of Copp on both ends of the ice.
Rasmussen, similar to Copp, has not produced on the offensive end, along with giving up goals on the defensive end. He has no points on the season and is a -4 plus/minus. He is logging 17 minutes a game so far and doesn’t have much to show for it, other than a minor penalty.
Changes and getting off the ice: Plays at the blue lines
The Red Wings, multiple times this season, have been caught not being able to change and get fresh bodies on the ice, resulting in quality chances or goals for their opponent.
An example of this was the fourth goal that the New Jersey Devils scored on October 13th. They struggled to get the puck to the neutral zone; then, once they did, they couldn’t get it far enough for their defenseman to change. A few seconds later, the Devils scored and took the lead in a close game. Many other similar instances happened in that game; goalie John Gibson bailed them out on a few.
They have to get better at getting the puck across the neutral zone, posing the puck, and giving their guys a chance to get off the ice. It is harder because they can’t just ice the puck like years ago, though being stronger at the blue lines will help.
Power Play
Bad may be a tad harsh, but I put it here because they are going to need to capitalize when they are on the power play, and they haven’t done that enough so far this season.
They are at 20%, which is 16th in the NHL, exactly in the middle. Though many power plays haven’t even put much pressure on the opponent. As you will read later in this article, scoring is and will be hard to come by; they must take advantage this season when they get power plays to supplement the scoring.
Ugly
Starts
The Red Wings have started slowly in most games, with the exception of the game against the Seattle Kraken. Games against the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Devils all have been games where the opposing team has multiple shots, a goal, and held the Wings without a shot for several minutes into the game.
The Rangers scored just over five minutes into the game, before the Red Wings even had a shot on goal, which didn’t come until over six minutes had been played. In the Canadiens game, the Wings came out on their heels and were badly outshot early before settling in to play a good game. In the Devils game, the Red Wings didn’t get a shot on net until over ten minutes had been played, and they were down 1-0. They would be outshot 16-3 in the first period.
Those starts have to be eliminated. Teams are too good in the NHL, and you have to show up from puck drop.
Offense
It is early, but the Red Wings have 14 goals in six games, which is 28th out of 32 teams. For reference, the Colorado Avalanche have scored 29 goals in six games. The Red Wings also already have been shut out twice.
They have to find ways to score more goals; they are getting shots on net. They are eighth in total shots, 191, and averaging 31.8 a game, including 37 against the Devils. However, they have a 7.3% shooting percentage, which is 29th out of 32 teams. That will not be good enough.
As I mentioned, taking advantage on the power play will help, but they also have to get more pucks in the net on the shots they take; they are taking enough they should be scoring more.
Penalty Kill
The Red Wings rank 28th in penalty kill percentage at 66.7%; that must improve for a team that is also struggling to score.
The penalty kill has improved since Larkin returned (yes, it was even worse the first two games), but a top ten penalty kill is above 80%, which is a long way to go. Ideally, it is closer to 90% for a team that doesn’t score many goals.
It is related to a point I made of relieving pressure; the Red Wings struggle to gain and clear the puck once the other team possesses it, whether it be even strength or a penalty kill. Edvinsson returning would help both of these weaknesses.
The penalty kill is a must-fix for this team.
Overall
While there are some positives on this season, the Red Wings have to fix some key issues fast. They are 1-3-2, and they have played five of six games at home. They also have the next two games at home; they can’t go on that west coast road trip with only one win.
It is early, but the results must start matching the effort for the Red Wings.
