The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only article discussing 10 observations she’s made as the Red Wings hit the 20-game mark, or the “quarter pole” of their 82-game schedule:
Luke at him: Lucas Raymond picked up his 12th assist of the season on Larkin’s goal Saturday. The rookie’s performance really is remarkable for his consistency. He has points in 12 games, and 19 after 20 games. That’s only two behind Steve Yzerman’s pace in his rookie year of 1983-84.
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Bert backs off: Tyler Bertuzzi’s early scoring pace — 14 points over his first 10 games — was not sustainable, but his overall play has dropped. He has two points during his past seven games, has been prone to turnovers and hasn’t played with the grit that makes him so effective. For the Wings to rebound, they need Bertuzzi back on his ‘A’ game.
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Power outage: The Wings have one power play goal in their past seven games, during which they’ve had roughly 21 minutes total with an extra skater. They had two power plays in the second period Saturday but weren’t able to build on their 1-0 lead. It’s been an issue for several seasons, but this season there are enough skilled players to form two units. Coaches have moved players around on the units, but this is another area where the Wings need to gain some confidence.
Playoffs? The Wings are right in the middle of the pack in their division; they entered Sunday at No. 4 in the Atlantic, a couple points out of a playoff spot (though it’s skewed somewhat by the disparity in games played). But they’re only a bit below .500, which is pretty good, all in all. They’re certainly more fun to watch than the previous couple seasons’ version of the franchise. They need to use this mini-break to recharge and get back to being a team that out-hustles its opponent regularly.
Continued (paywall)
