According to DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills, the Red Wings’ leadership corps believes that the team needs to improve its self-confidence in order to succeed in November:
“It’s guys wanting the puck on their stick and feeling confident to make plays,” [Dylan] Larkin said after practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Friday morning. “I think we have to build that. We have guys like myself that can do it and want the puck on their stick. It’s just confidence individually, as a team and when we walk into any building on any night, we have confidence that we’re going to win that game.”
Patrick Kane agreed “100 percent” with Larkin.
“I think we’ve had stretches and periods where we’ve played fearless, and took it to some of these teams,” Kane said. “That’s the way you got to play in this league. You can’t think about making a mistake. That mistake is probably going to happen. You got to play with some swagger and fearlessness. Try to take it to some of these teams, stay on the attack and stay aggressive. I think when we do that, we’ve shown we’re a pretty good team.”
Building confidence isn’t an overnight thing, hence why Larkin and Kane both pointed to the Red Wings’ ability to maintain possession in the offensive zone as a way of taking off some pressure defensively.
Per NHL EDGE, at even strength, Detroit is spending 44.2 percent of its time in the defensive zone compared to 37.3 percent in the offensive zone and 18.5 in the neutral zone this season.
“When we get into that O-zone, we have a lot of players that can make plays, create some time and space, and capitalize on those opportunities,” Kane said. “We’ve done it throughout the season, just not consistent enough. It’s something we’re talking about every day and trying to build on.”
