Detroit Red Wings Weekly Recap: Wrapping Up Week 5

Welcome to my fifth regular-season Red Wings weekly review. The Detroit Red Wings played three games this week, all on the road. The week started with a 4-3 loss in Los Angeles against the Kings. The Red Wings then traveled to Anaheim to play the Ducks and lost 3-2 in overtime. The west coast trip ended with an offensive explosion, a 7-4 win against the San Jose Sharks.

Positives

Detroit Red Wings rookie phenom forward Jonatan Berggren was called up and made his NHL debut against the New York Rangers last week, and scored his first NHL goal in the 3-2 overtime loss against Anaheim.

Berggren has looked at home and is comfortable in the top six with the Red Wings. He has played so well that he has seen time on the top line with captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

Berggren brings speed and offensive creativity to a team that has lacked that kind of depth in the past few seasons. He has played four games in his short NHL career, posting one goal and two assists for three points. Berggren could be that player that leads the Detroit Red Wings for the next decade.

Defenseman Filip Hronek has been Detroit’s best defenseman this season. On the year, he has played 17 games, registering two goals and ten assists for 12 points. Hronek had a rough season last year for the Red Wings, not supplying offense and playing sloppy defense. This season, he is playing a different game and looks confident. Hronek has also added a bit of grit to his game, playing a physical game on a regular basis. Hronek may be the most underrated Detroit Red Wing this season so far.

The compete level is much better than last season. The overall game of the entire team has been raised to a level most Detroit Red Wings fans have not seen in a while. Whether they are ahead or behind, They play the same aggressive forechecking game. In the offensive zone, the cycle game is also better and it gives the Red Wings more of a possession game. Of the things most improved about the Detroit Red Wings this season.

Negatives

The defense as a whole has been less than stellar. As of seasons previous, the Detroit Red Wings often have got caught in their own zone, chasing the puck instead of playing man-to-man. Some missed assignments and missed opportunities to get the puck out cost them goals this past week. They have to be better in defensive zone coverage.

While the offense has been better as a whole as far as scoring chances go, the shots are still getting passed up. often making too many passes. Good looks at the net and open players are avoided to get the extra pass in. The players are trying to get too pretty in the offensive zone instead of shooting the puck at a good opportunity. The shots generated by the Detroit Red Wings are 28.5, which is 30th in the league.

As with former Red Wings coach, Jeff Blashill, coach Derek Lalonde has implemented a similar ritual. Noticeable were the frequent line changes, often when the team was down by a goal or two. This continued through periods not just shifts. The team needs to build chemistry with all of the new faces and constantly changing the lines when the team is losing is not the way to go about that.