The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton notes that Red Wings forward Vladimir Tarasenko still looks like he’s adjusting to the Red Wings’ systems, at least as evidenced by his up-and-down preseason play, per coach Derek Lalonde:
“I certainly hope so,” Derek Lalonde replied, when asked Saturday by The Hockey News whether the physical side of Tarasenko’s game is under-appreciated, before suggesting he was something less than entirely satisfied. “Vlad has two goals for us. I think last night he did his job in that he finished [to put the Red Wings] up 3-1. I would like to think a little more detailed, motivated group would’ve finished that off when it matters, but obviously that wasn’t the case last night, which is frustrating.” In the last sentence, he was describing the Red Wings’ collective effort against Ottawa Thursday, but his subsequent remarks made clear the same applied to Tarasenko.
“You can see how we’re built,” continued Lalonde. “We’re very light with some of our skill throughout the lineup, and it shows up in puck battles, retrievals. There’s nights it can be not good enough. I think he’s just a little bit bigger, and we would like him to help out a little more. I’m glad he’s started to maybe try to get his game in order.”
In that sentiment, Lalonde suggests that the promise of Tarasenko lies in his ability to add both grit and skill at the same time to Detroit’s top six. In this regard, Tarasenko serves as a direct replacement to David Perron, albeit with perhaps slightly different toggling on the skill and grit sliders, whose spot in the top six Tarasenko fills after Perron signed in Ottawa. However, Lalonde’s comments also suggest that he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing to date.
Continued; Tarasenko was more than a little stiff over the course of his preseason games, but I think that after 10-15 games of adjustment, he should fit right into the Wings’ systems of play.
