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Zach Aston Reese was recalled as “injury insurance… for Detroit’s West Coast swing. These games are interesting because with later starts the local fandom knows they can watch the replay or just the highlights and it begs the question of the necessity for the trips. Charter flights, hotel rooms, per diem etc all rack up the costs while the fan base doesn’t necessarily tune in for those contests. Tuesday and Thursday show 10:30 start times (so, 10:45 in reality) with an 8:00 Sunday game vs. Anaheim. If the league is looking to cut some of the costs this may be where the discussion should be had.
Detroit is now 4 places outside of the wild card spots, but only 3 points separate the team from that final spot. Detroit has 38 points, but Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Washington all have 40 and Tampa is holding onto the final wild card spot with 41 points and Detroit has one game in hand. Unfortunately the teams in front of Detroit have games in hand as well (DET has played 37, Pitt and NJ 35 and Washington 34). The division is tough, and Boston hasn’t lost the step expected with Bergeron retiring as the Bruins hold the top spot in the division after an historic start to the season.
So much seems to boil down to the defense and goaltending. Detroit is 3rd in the league in goals scored with 131 (3.54 per game) but rank in the bottom 6 for goals against letting in 128, or 3.46 per game. You’re basically spending the game trying to counter and overcome what you’re letting in. The team plays sporadically where they look good then a turnover or intercepted pass lets the air out of the tires. Not nearly as visible as last year, but still an obvious change in demeanor.
We’ve now seen all 3 goalies put up some brutal efforts. No, they’re not getting help defensively. Coyle’s goal last night had him alone in Esposito land. Whether it’s a systematic, communication or just a talent issue this team is defensively not getting the job done. Before the “it’s a rebuild… starts flowing in, some of what we’re seeing is a step backward. Complete lack of coverage and defenders don’t seem to know where they should be. Detroit is at its best on the breakout. The team keeps trying to prepare for the series of 2 or 3 passes (one usually going in front of the net) and other teams have caught on. You’ll have a dense triangle down low to the left or right of the net, then a forward above the slot and another near the blue line. 2 of the 5 players seem to be preparing to leave the zone.
The attack in the O zone is better but what seems to have caught the attention of video scouts (and there are some good ones) is two, three, even four drop passes that push the defending team back as they cover the previous puck carrier as the forwards push down toward the net and a defenseman walks into the final drop (if on the rush). That only leaves one defender ready (sometimes less) as the opposition inevitably has a winger change on the rush back and can gain grab a puck that’s flipped into the neutral zone. A modified version of the Sedin twins when they would intentionally ice the puck knowing someone could beat the defense back.
So, coaching focused on a breakout system and trying to overwhelm opposing defense with 3 and 4 man rushes. Sometimes it works great. When it doesn’t, it’s a 1 on 0, 2 on 1 or even 2 on 0 rush the other way. At very near the halfway point the coaches don’t seem to be willing to adjust the main system. Hearing that Edmonton called on Paul Coffey to help with defense, it’s hard not to wonder if Yzerman will look at that move and look at Lidstrom. Nick is known to be quiet, but if requested his input is fairly high level. He may be more valuable behind the bench than in the office right now.
The trade deadline is roughly 2 months out. That would signal that the next 4 to 5 weeks of play will dictate the conversations unless someone starts dealing early. With limited cap space the teams most likely to try and grab a piece and round out a contending club need to send money out and the daily adjusted cap space available. This is going to be interesting.
Last year, it looked like Detroit was on a mission post all star game but things fell apart and saw Hronek and Bertuzzi shipped out. With a low salary, Kane (especially as he continues to create) is going to be highly sought after. Teams inevitably add defense because injuries can pile up on a long run. There are deals to be made and essentially the operative question. Is it worth hanging onto assets to possibly get into the post season or better to grab draft picks or potentially underused players (Walman has been a nice add) and look to the next season? That decision will be made fairly soon.