Tomas Tatar offered a simple and straightforward explanation for the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-1 loss Saturday at Vancouver to open their six-game road trip.
“We didn’t score, they did,… Tatar said. “That’s what turned the game.…
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg broke down the difference in the outcome more specifically.
“Their special teams were a little better than our special teams,… Zetterberg said. “That’s the real difference.…
Then, Tatar ramped up the analysis one step further.
“Their power play was better than ours,… Tatar explained.
Generally, that’s not been the case for the Red Wings this season. Their special teams on both sides of puck have played dominant roles in putting the team into its current position as a contender in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Detroit’s power play is third-best in the NHL at 23.1 per cent. The Red Wings’ penalty kill, even though it coughed up a pair of goals in Saturday’s loss, still sits fourth overall in the league at 86.9 per cent.
“I think it’s key for us,… Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “All you have to do is look at the expectations for the Red Wings coming into the year.
“One of the reasons we’re not like that is because of our special teams. Our coaches have done a good job, our players have done a good job, our attention to detail has been good.
“The other thing about it is we didn’t get off to a good start on the power play, but I think through good teaching and guys buying in and a good plan and execution and having good players, we’ve been able to execute in both of those situations.…
When he was coaching the Wings, Scotty Bowman used to stress for that a team to be a legitimate championship contender, when you added up the respective positions of the two special-teams units, the number should not be more than 10. “I think it’s huge,… Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader said of their current placing. “Specialty teams we always talk about each and every year, at the start of the season and then at the end of the season you want to know where you stack up in the league. You’d like to be top five, top 10 in both categories.
“It’s not easy. In the past we’ve been mediocre, in the middle of the pack in both power play and penalty kill. You can look at team’s specialty teams and where they’re at in the standings and there’s a direct correlation for the most part.
“If they’re top 5, top 10 in both most likely they’re going to be towards the top of the standings.…
The Wings are rolling at a combined seven right now, but it has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with everybody chipping in and playing a role.
On any given night, almost every one of Detroit’s 18 skaters who are dressed will see duty in a special-teams role.
“I’m a big believer in that helps your team be better because everyone’s important,… Babcock said. “We can spread the workload out. Don’t get me wrong, Pav (Datsyuk) and Z (Zetterberg) are really good penalty killers, they’re outstanding penalty killers, but we just feel that the wear and tear on them isn’t worth it when we can put it on Glenny (Luke Glendening) and Millsy (Drew Miller) and those guys and then they contribute to the team and they feel good about themselves.…
Miller admitted the when fourth liners like himself can play such a huge role in the gameplan, it does make for a more cohesive group.
“We take pride in that,… Miller said of the penalty killers. “I think the power play has come along and scored some big goals for us, too. So specialty teams are doing fairly well and it's something we can rely on down the stretch here.…
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