The Detroit Red Wings want to show they making progress as a team, but as games intensify, their confidence in doing so is dwindling.
They’ve lost two in a row — at home, no less, where they’re 11-5-2 — and have one last chance to set a better tone at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks before heading out for a week on the road, where the Wings are 4-10-1. It’s getting close to the midpoint of the season, and that means one thing in the NHL.
“It only gets harder as the year goes along and we have to show that we’re a team that belongs in the win column as the games get harder and harder,” coach Jeff Blashill said Monday. “It’s individual players playing at a high level, and making plays at key moments.”
[DOWN FOR THE COUNT: Physical opponents expose how far Wings have to measure up]
Defenseman Nick Leddy was at practice, which cleared the COVID-19 protocol list.
The Wings have scored two goals their last two games. They were pushed around by the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve in a 3-1 loss, and bullied Sunday by the Boston Bruins in a 5-1 loss. When teams get physical — and that doesn’t mean fighting, it means players are checking and grinding and making room for themselves at the net — the Wings’ response has been to take it, not give it back.
“That’s just a decision that we’re going to match physicality,” Blashill said. “We are going to make the opponent pay a price when they have the puck. There’s been times we’ve passed up some checks. Not all, but some.
“Throughout the lineup, we just have to make sure that we’re making the opponent pay a hard price.”
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The odds of doing so are supposed to improve when a team has a man advantage, but there are few areas that frustrate the Wings more their power play. It ranks 30th in the league at 14.4%. Joe Veleno (one goal, three assists in 17 games) replaced Filip Zadina (four goals, six assists, 32 games) on the second unit at Monday’s practice; Veleno is a better skater and maybe can add a fresh look.
“I’m looking forward to it if I get the opportunity,” Veleno said. “I have to take advantage of every situation — not give them a reason not to put me in the lineup or send me back down. That’s up to me and my work ethic. If I set my exceptions high and do those things, I think my chances of sticking around will be pretty good.”
The Wings went 0-for-7 on power plays the last two games.
“In both Boston and Washington, our power play let us down,” Blashill said. “If we score on the power play in those games, it definitely has a chance to be a different outcome. Ultimately Washington scored a goal at the very end of their power play. That was the difference. We have to keep putting ourselves in those positions, and then you have to find ways to make plays to win the game.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.