USA TODAY International Edition
Red Wings place emphasis on special teams
Power play struggles cost team last season
As the Detroit Red Wings head into the 2016- 17 season starting with Thursday’s opener at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the emphasis is on performing better as a team, scoring more and being tougher on opponents.
One area in particular is under scrutiny: special teams. Last season’s power play was such a hodgepodge it was farcical: Shift after man- advantage shift, the Red Wings would skate off without even registering a shot on net.
If the Red Wings are to survive in an increasingly competitive NHL, if the April 9 date with the New Jersey Devils isn’t to be the last time they play at Joe Louis Arena, they must be better at special teams.
“We saw a stat, if you win special teams battles, you win 76% of games,” winger Justin Abdelkader said.
Coach Jeff Blashill broke down the statistic: “If you score more goals, either on the power play or shorthanded, vs. penalty kill or shorthanded goals against, you win 76% of the time.”
Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg lamented that the power play was not consistent last season. “That’s something we need to improve on,” he sad. “Overall, the special teams battles are really important. If you win those battles in games, your chance of winning that game is bigger.”
The Wings scored 50 powerplay goals in 266 opportunities last season, with Pavel Datsyuk contributing eight of those goals. He is now gone — “It’s going to be different for us not having him,” Zetterberg said, also pointing out that they have been through it when Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom retired.
As familiar faces depart, new ones arrive. July 1 reaped Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott, all of whom should have an impact on special teams.
Nielsen, a two- way center, produced seven goals and 13 assists for the New York Islanders’ power play last season. Vanek contributed seven goals and eight assists for the Minnesota Wild’s power play. Injuries limited Ott to 21 regular- season games with the St. Louis Blues, but he has a history of being a good penalty killer and excellent on faceoffs.
The influx of newcomers won’t matter unless many of the Red Wings who underperformed last season decide to shoulder more of the burden.
Zetterberg echoed Blashill in saying there needs to be greater accountability for everyone in the locker room.
“A few of the older guys need to have better seasons, and I am one of them,” he said. “There were a few guys that dropped in production, and if we can get them back, that would be big.”
The Red Wings don’t have a No. 1 or a No. 2 defenseman, and they don’t have a prime-of- hiscareer superstar forward, but they should be a better team than the group that didn’t clinch a playoff seed until after its regularseason finale last April.
If Gustav Nyquist ( who had 28 goals in 2013- 14 and 27 in 2014- 15 but reached only 17 goals last season) and Tomas Tatar ( 29 goals in 2014- 15, 21 last season) play up to form along with a few others, if Dylan Larkin matches his 23- goal rookie season, and the newcomers thrive — the Red Wings stand to be competitive.
“We are a team that everyone needs to chip in, do their part,” Abdelkader said. “A lot of guys would have liked to score more goals.”
The Red Wings used the emotional high of playing former coach Mike Babcock’s Toronto Maple Leafs to score a win in last season’s opener and added two more victories, but then lost six of the next seven games to flunk their first 10- game segment. Finishing this October with better numbers is the first big step.
“You want to stay consistent,” forward Riley Sheahan said. “So if we can get off to a good start and get the ball rolling, start in a positive way, that would be huge for us.”
O ne area where there is more stability than at the start of last season is in goal. Blashill has committed to Petr Mrazek as No. 1, with Jimmy Howard as backup. Mrazek said his mind- set isn’t any different, but that’s because his mind- set is always on winning — and if he flubs a game, on to the next one.
“He is a really tremendous goalie,” Abdelkader said. “As a really confident goalie, that is the best part about him — if he has a bad night, he is going to turn around and bounce back.”