Red Wings Power Play No Longer Able to Cover for Struggling Penalty Kill

In the nine games since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Detroit Red Wings penalty kill has given up six power play goals in 19 opportunities.  That success rate ( just 68.4%) while short-handed is a driving factor in the fact that Detroit has won just twice in those nine contests.

A struggling PK is nothing new for the Red Wings.  It's a season-long trend that contributed to Detroit replacing Derek Lalonde with Todd McLellan but has ultimately persisted into the new regime.  For the season, the Red Wings rank dead last in the league at a 69.5% penalty kill.

Tuesday night's 2–1 defeat in Ottawa offered a tidy illustration of the way Detroit has been hamstrung by its inability to kill off penalties.  The Red Wings were dominant at five-on-five all night but conceded twice on the PK, paving the path for the Senators' eventual victory.

As Alex DeBrincat told reporters post-game, "I thought we played well the whole game...Their powerplay scored two and we didn't get any. That's the difference maker."

The biggest reason Detroit's season hasn't been completely undone by its PK already is the raging success of the power play, which is humming along at 28.2% for the season and providing the run support necessary to counteract the largely inept penalty kill. 

Since the 4 Nations break, the Red Wings man advantage is actually above that figure at 8/27 or 29.6%.  However, that overall figure is a bit misleading.  Detroit's PP sizzled out of the break with five goals on nine tries in the first weekend back (an OT loss to the Wild, then an OT win over the Ducks, both at Little Caesars Arena). 

Since that return-to-play weekend, Detroit has gone just 3/18 (16.7%) on the power play in seven games.  The Red Wings won the first of those seven, despite going 0-for-1 on the man advantage, in Minnesota and have subsequently lost the ensuing six.

In their last four games, Detroit has just one power play goal in a dozen tries.  That goal came in the Wings' 5–2 loss in Washington, where the PP also conceded two short-handed goals, directly counter-acting its own contribution.

As Detroit looks to break free from its skid, Tuesday's performance offers plenty to build on, but the Red Wings will also need their special teams form to improve at both ends.  As it stands, Detroit is four points back of the Blue Jackets (who have played one fewer game than the Red Wings) for the final wild card spot in the East.  To close that gap with 18 games to go is not out of the question, but it will require the penalty kill to claw its way closer to passable and for the power play to break out of its present, albeit brief, slump.