Where Have The Goals Gone?

Slumping? Yes, as they ready to play the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, many Detroit Red Wings are slumping when it comes to putting the puck in the net. In fact, it would be easier to list those who are scoring that to tabulate all those who are currently struggling. But just for the sake of pointing out the facts, let’s list them anyway: Justin Abdelkader - one goal in 19 games; Thomas Vanek - one goal in 10 games; Michael Rasmussen - zero goals in 15 games; Luke Glendening - two goals in 15 games; Martin Frk - zero goals in 16 games; Tyler Bertuzzi - zero goals in seven games; Jacob De La Rose - one goal in 17 games; Christoffer Ehn - zero goals in 19 games; Andreas Athanasiou - zero goals in 10 games. None of this is news to Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill. And the solution does not include anything other than putting their noses to the grindstone and digging their way out of the hole. “This is what I know about it,… Blashill told Detroitredwings.com. “For sure is the only way to work yourself out of it is one, to work. You have to work and two, you can’t cheat for offense. Those two things I know 100 percent. “Sometimes, guys stop working and a lot of times they start cheating for offense. That usually leads to playing more defense. So you gotta make sure that you’re checking for your chances, you’re playing great defense. If you do that, you’ll end up having the offensive side of the puck go your way. “The season is going to ebb and flow, but certainly we gotta make sure guys dig in a little bit, guys that are struggling.… In the midst of an 0-3-1 skid, the Wings have scored a total of nine goals in those four games, an average of 2.25 goals per game. Meanwhile, they’ve allowed 17 goals over the same span, an average of 4.25 goals per game. Take it back six games, a skein in which Detroit is 1-4-1, and the goals per game increases to only 2.33, while the goals per game decreases slightly to 3.67. You don’t need Abe Weissman to tell you that with either of those equations, the math won’t work. “Sometimes pucks don’t go your way,… Athanasiou sought to explain before offering a simple solution to their scoring woes. “Probably overshooting it would be the best option right now. I think anytime things aren’t going your way the best bet is just put the puck on the net. Don’t force too many plays. “Once they start going in you can start going in there and making the plays, but it is what it is.… Over the past nine games, the Wings have scored more than three times in a game just twice. In that same span, they’ve allowed four or more goals in five games Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer