Detroit Red Wings Weekly Recap; Wrapping up Week 25
Welcome to my 25th regular season Detroit Red Wings weekly review. The Detroit Red Wings played three games this past week, going 2-1. They began the week with a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Red Wings then picked up big wins to close out the week, a 7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins and closed out the week with a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Detroit Red Wings impressive in two wins this week
Positives
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic has played well since his recall from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He started off with three losses after his recall but has managed two straight wins, those wins coming this week against Pittsburgh and Carolina. With starter Ville Husso likely done for the season, it is now Nedeljkovic’s time to shine.This is a big opportunity for Nedeljkovic to show the Detroit Red Wings, and the league he still has it. Perhaps the Red Wings think about picking him up for next season in a backup role. Another way to think about this is that this could be an audition for Nedeljkovic. If the Red Wings go another direction, Nedeljkovic could be wanted by another team in the off season if he plays well in these remaining games.
The offense came through this week. After being shutout by the Flyers in the first game, the Detroit Red Wings exploded for a combined ten goals in their next two games. The Red Wings saw holes in the Penguins defense and exposed them, capitalizing on their chances. The win against Carolina came in the last few seconds as defenseman Jake Walman scored to give the Detroit Red Wings the big win. The forwards and defensemen were solid this week, with impressive showing from Nedeljkovic as well.
Forward David Perron was the big offensive producer this week with three goals and two assists for five points. The three goals came as a hat trick in the win against the Penguins. Perron has shown that general manager Steve Yzerman was wise to acquire his services as he has been good all year.
Negatives
Even with two wins in three games this past week, the Detroit Red Wings have had issues keeping the puck in the offensive zone on the power play. The Red Wings would often get the puck in the offensive zone and the puck would be out just as quickly. This was evident against the Flyers, as the Red Wings could not sustain any pressure in any period.
The Detroit Red Wings had two big wins this week but still had issues with old. The Red Wings had issues maintaining a lead in those two wins. Although they did win those two games, the Penguins and Hurricanes had come back after being down in the game. It seems the Red Wings would get a lead then take their foot off the gas pedal. Any NHL fan knows that that will not work in today’s game with the talent on the ice.
With the loss to the Flyers, this shows that the Detroit Red Wings still have a ways to go. Philadelphia is towards the bottom in the standings in both wins and points, so this should have been a good time to take advantage of those stats and win a winnable game. But lack of overall effort against the teams at the bottom will cost the Detroit Red Wings points every time.