Detroit Red Wings Weekly Recap: Wrapping Up Week 4

Welcome to my fourth regular-season Detroit Red Wings weekly review. This past week, the Red Wings were a busy group, playing four games total with three being at Little Caesars Arena.

The Red Wings shut out the New York Islanders 3-0, followed by a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden. The Red Wings then lost at home to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout, then closed out the week with an ugly 8-2 loss against the Rangers.

Positives

Detroit Red Wings right winger Lucas Raymond had a coming-out party this past week, scoring three goals. This gives Raymond six goals in the past seven games.

He has been dominant over the past week, continuing to have chemistry with center, and captain, Dylan Larkin.

Wrapping up Week 4 for the Detroit Red Wings.

The Detroit Red Wings’ penalty kill was strong this week, going 7-for-9. The penalty kill is one of the more noticeable differences since head coach Derek Lalonde took over.

They are more aggressive on the puck, take fewer chances than seasons before, and are patient and more disciplined.

The role players for the Detroit Red Wings are coming up big. With forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina injured, the players filling those holes are playing well and contributing. This past week, the Detroit Red Wings got goals from Matt Luff, Austin Czarnik, Joe Veleno, and Pius Suter.

They are not just filling these holes but getting playing time and using that time to contribute offensively.

Negatives

The power play was powerless, going 2-for-18 last week, placing them 27th in the league with a 17% success rate. The movement and players on the power play are fine but the converting is an issue.

The Red Wings could use another offensive defenseman to get more success with the man advantage.

Zadina’s injury hurts the Detroit Red Wings long-term as coach Lalonde revealed Zadina could be out for months. The players filling that spot have done a good job, but if you are the Red Wings, these are not players you want on your roster for months.

The lack of offensive production from the blueline is concerning. Filip Hronek leads the defense in scoring, posting eight points in 14 games and Olli Maatta has seven points in the same amount of games, but after that, the offensive production drops off severely.

If the Detroit Red Wings want to make a serious push for the playoffs, the defense will need to contribute more offensively than they have.