The Detroit Red Wings have made no appreciable improvement in their goals-against this season. It’s gotten much worse during a 2-9-0 slide that’s done severe damage to their playoff hopes.
Coach Todd McLellan asked some pointed questions after Saturday’s 6-3 loss at Vegas.
“We talk about wanting to be in the playoffs, but we’re not sure we always want to be in shooting lanes,” McLellan told media in Vegas after the game. “We’re not sure we want to do some things. And I’m not saying everybody. Do we really want to do it around the net? Do we really want to get hit by a puck? Do we want to do the board work when it’s hard? If the answer is yes to that from everybody, then we have a chance. If the answer is yes to those questions from 85 percent of the players, we don’t. We got to keep asking those questions and working on it.”
McLellan hasn’t hesitated to call out players individually since he arrived. This time, there were probably too many to list.
“There are some that seem to get hit by a puck a lot, and then there’s others that just kind of find their way out of it,” McLellan said. “Our job is to get them in the lanes. And if they’re not willing to get there, then we have to look at who we have.
“It’s just not shooting lanes. It’s net play. It’s board work, line changes, reading and reacting to situations. Some are still gaining experience. Some are making the same mistakes over and over, and that’s a little alarming. So, keep working at it.”
The Red Wings have allowed 51 goals in their past 15 games (3.40 per game). They allowed only 13 during a seven-game winning streak (1.86 per game) prior to this stretch.
“They just seemed to get a lot of pucks through from the top,” Alex DeBrincat told media at the game. “We got to do a better job as forwards and wingers to block those shots and then obviously in front of the net, take away sticks.”
They continue the trip Monday with their first-ever visit to Utah (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network) followed by a game in Colorado Tuesday (9 p.m., FSN).
The Red Wings (32-31-6, 70 points) are five points behind Montreal for the final wild card spot. Three other teams are in between, making their task even more difficult. And their runway is getting shorter with 13 games remaining.
“Yeah, shorter and shorter,” Dylan Larkin told media in Vegas. “But we’re still there. We got to start winning some hockey games and taking care of our own business.”
Coach Todd McLellan asked some pointed questions after Saturday’s 6-3 loss at Vegas.
“We talk about wanting to be in the playoffs, but we’re not sure we always want to be in shooting lanes,” McLellan told media in Vegas after the game. “We’re not sure we want to do some things. And I’m not saying everybody. Do we really want to do it around the net? Do we really want to get hit by a puck? Do we want to do the board work when it’s hard? If the answer is yes to that from everybody, then we have a chance. If the answer is yes to those questions from 85 percent of the players, we don’t. We got to keep asking those questions and working on it.”
McLellan hasn’t hesitated to call out players individually since he arrived. This time, there were probably too many to list.
“There are some that seem to get hit by a puck a lot, and then there’s others that just kind of find their way out of it,” McLellan said. “Our job is to get them in the lanes. And if they’re not willing to get there, then we have to look at who we have.
“It’s just not shooting lanes. It’s net play. It’s board work, line changes, reading and reacting to situations. Some are still gaining experience. Some are making the same mistakes over and over, and that’s a little alarming. So, keep working at it.”
The Red Wings have allowed 51 goals in their past 15 games (3.40 per game). They allowed only 13 during a seven-game winning streak (1.86 per game) prior to this stretch.
“They just seemed to get a lot of pucks through from the top,” Alex DeBrincat told media at the game. “We got to do a better job as forwards and wingers to block those shots and then obviously in front of the net, take away sticks.”
They continue the trip Monday with their first-ever visit to Utah (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network) followed by a game in Colorado Tuesday (9 p.m., FSN).
The Red Wings (32-31-6, 70 points) are five points behind Montreal for the final wild card spot. Three other teams are in between, making their task even more difficult. And their runway is getting shorter with 13 games remaining.
“Yeah, shorter and shorter,” Dylan Larkin told media in Vegas. “But we’re still there. We got to start winning some hockey games and taking care of our own business.”
