It was anticipated far and wide that the 5-2 win against the
Edmonton Oilers this past week was a sure sign that the Detroit Red Wings have overcome
some pre-playoff glitches. However, judging by the lacklustre performance in
their 3-1 loss against the Columbus Bluejackets, the team is still plagued by
poor defensive and neutral zone play and there is still work to do in order to
be successful in the post-season.
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| Courtesy of: Detroit Free Press
There is little to be argued about the Red Wings’ ability to
be a strong offensive force. Once the puck is in the opponent’s zone, big
wingers like Justin Abdelkader, Erik Cole, Johan Franzen (when healthy), and Riley
Sheahan can muck it up in the corners and help get pucks to the net. Zetterberg
and Datsyuk have a proven ability to set up others on their lines with perfect
and timely passes. It is the play in the area outside of the offensive zone that
struggles and needs to be addressed before the Red Wings find themselves
dropping in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bluejackets’ 1st goal was made possible when Fedor
Tyutin was able to rush the net uncovered and score off a pass from Nick
Foligno top shelf against Jimmy Howard. The goal was pretty but in 5-on-5 play
Tyutin should not have been left that open so close to the net to make the
play.
In Columbus' 2nd goal, Detroit appeared to be
running around, unable to gain control of the puck. Again a player, this time
Scott Hartnell, was left untouched in the slot to go five-hole on Howard. Both
defencemen looked to be in good position to close off the passing lane to
Hartnell and winger Luke Glendening attempted to cover Hartnell but he was too
slow to pick him up.
Granted, the 3rd goal scored by the Bluejackets
was a power-play goal however Cam Atkinson was able to skate from the Columbus blue
line literally untouched to bury one home. It is common knowledge that during a
penalty kill a team’s focus shifts to strong defensive play while one man
short. This kind of play was absent here; at least two Red Wings were caught
flat-footed and it ended up costing them a goal.
It was not just the scoring plays that showed the weakness
of Detroit’s offence last night. It could be seen by the way Columbus was able
to make some big hits on the forecheck and create opportunity.
Can Detroit tighten up the screws on defence in time for the
playoffs? Sure, there is time left. But it needs to happen now. It is a bad stretch
to start losing games as teams on the periphery of the post-season are hungrier
to win. To regain past form, the Red Wings need to re-work their penalty kill
and judging by the Bluejacket’s first two goals, look at man-to-man coverage at
even strength to prevent opponents being left wide open to score.
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