Detroit Red Wings Weekly Recap; Wrapping Up Week 6

Welcome to my sixth regular-season Detroit Red Wings weekly review. The Red Wings played only two games this week, one at home and one on the road.

The Detroit Red Wings began the week with a 6-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus. The Red Wings then closed out the week by shutting out the Nashville Predators 3-0 at Little Caesars Arena.

Positives

The Detroit Red Wings played air-tight defense and allowed one goal in two games in the process. Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso continues to be the biggest bright spot for Detroit.

The defense as a whole allowed very few second chances and cleared the crease in the quick fashion of any rebounds. They only played two games but the Detroit Red Wings’ defense looked impressive.

Detroit Red Wings weekly recap; Wrapping up week 6.

The penalty kill showed incredible restraint, not chasing the puck like in years past inside the defensive zone. On-the-puck pressure, clearing the puck instantly, and keeping a tight box allowed them to successfully kill all five opportunities this week.

Special teams were great this week as the other bright spot was the power play. The man advantage went three for five in two games, crisply operating at their speed and creating timely plays that resulted in goals.

Defenseman Filip Hronek continues his hot play, getting the puck to the net to create scoring chances. Getting players in front of the goaltender also helped create offense with screens and tip-ins.

Negatives

Secondary scoring for the Detroit Red Wings needs to step up. This past week, most of the goal-scoring came from the likes of captain Dylan Larkin, Dominik Kubalik, and Hronek.

If the Red Wings are going to compete for a playoff spot, then the bottom six needs to be more offensively productive to take some heat off of the top six.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, although he did not see action this week between the pipes, needs to also step up his game. He needs to contribute and go back to what made him successful with the Carolina Hurricanes.

A good hockey team has two solid goaltenders, and a championship team has two goaltenders that can be number one on any team in the league. Nedeljkovic needs to play and regain his form to give Husso a rest at some point, or at least to see if there is interest from other teams.

The faceoff percentage is still not where it needs to be. Winning faceoffs is key to any successful hockey team and critical in the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings may need to practice taking faceoffs to get above that 50% faceoff winning percentage as a team.

Losing faceoffs could result in losing games and costing this team precious points.

Weekly record: 2-0-0

Season Record: 10-5-4