The Athletic’s Max Bultman answered several reader questions in a mailbag feature. Among them:
Approximately 12 months apart, this team has been part of two different playoff chases. Last year, they obviously came up short. What changes in the past 12 months are most likely to yield a different outcome? — Cody B.
The biggest difference would be health — if they can keep it. Last year’s team obviously had its flaws, but one of the biggest reasons the Red Wings missed the playoffs was how flat they were when Dylan Larkin was injured last March, going 2-6 with multiple losses to Arizona and a bad one in Buffalo. Win just one more of those games, and they’d have been in.
So, keeping Larkin healthy would go a long way this time around.
But beyond that, there are other differences, too. This year’s team has shown it doesn’t need to play as much of a run-and-gun style to win, as evidenced by giving up two or fewer goals in six straight wins from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2. But when Detroit does need offense, it still has the power play to find it.
And perhaps most importantly, the Red Wings won’t be as reliant on one goaltender, as they were last season on Alex Lyon. They probably overworked Lyon — as they had previously with Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic — and it showed as the season wore on. But with Lyon and the steady, reliable Cam Talbot, Detroit can more easily alternate and keep both goalies fresh.
Add in Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson each leveling up and the contributions of some young players who weren’t here last year (such as Marco Kasper and Albert Johansson), and there’s at least a path to a better outcome this time around.
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