Welcome to my 24th regular season Detroit Red Wings weekly review.
The Detroit Red Wings played four games this week, going 1-3. The Red Wings lost to the Colorado Avalanche 5-1, lost against the Florida Panthers 5-2, won 3-2 in a shootout against the St. Louis Blues, and finished the week with a 4-3 loss against the Blues at Little Caesars Arena.
The Detroit Red Wings continue to struggle as the season concludes.
Positives
The defense still needs some fine-tuning, but they have a solid group coming into their own.
Moritz Seider looks like a future Norris Trophy winner, Jake Walman can do everything well at both ends of the ice, Jordan Oesterle is an underrated defenseman, and Simon Edvinsson looks like the real deal.
This could be a solid top four that could carry this Detroit Red Wings team for the next ten years. They supply offense, are solid in their own end, and have just enough physical play to keep the opposition honest.
The Red Wings are not as gifted offensively as some other teams in the league. However, the one thing they are good at in the offensive zone is offensive zone pressure.
They continually cycle the puck, pass the puck with speed and precision, take a variety of shots, and use their speed to their advantage. There are not a lot of finishers in the Detroit Red Wings forward group, but they keep the heat on the opposing defense when in the offensive zone.
The big point producer this past week was captain Dylan Larkin. Larkin had one goal and three assists for a four-point week. David Perron and Alex Chiasson also had good offensive outings as well.
Congratulations go out to big rookie defenseman Simon Edvinsson for scoring his first NHL goal in a 3-2 loss against the Blues.
Negatives
The Detroit Red Wings went 1-3 this week and are 1-4 in their last five games. They were outscored 16-9 this past week, competing against some strong competition. Their overall play has not been horrible, just needs to be managed better to see results.
Injuries once again plague the Detroit Red Wings lineup. Forwards Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen, defensemen Mark Pysyk and Ben Chiarot, and goaltender Ville Husso are all currently out of the lineup.
Of those players, Chiarot, Rasmussen, and Husso are a major part of this team going forward. They are pivotal parts of the Detroit Red Wings roster, and they play important roles in the chemistry of the team.
Erne, Fabbri, and Husso could return any day, while the others are anywhere from week-to-week to out for the season.
With the hopes of obtaining a wild card spot, the Detroit Red Wings are all but dead in that conversation. With the results of the past two weeks, the Red Wings have a slim chance of grabbing one of those spots.
The Detroit Red Wings are 31-31-9 for 71 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the holders of the second wild card, at 80 points. The Red Wings have 11 games remaining, while the Penguins have 10 games left on the 2022-23 NHL schedule.