The Red Wings were bested in overtime 4-3 by the Montreal Canadiens last night but with the Boston Bruins’ regulation loss to the Florida Panthers, the one point earned clinched a playoff spot. While the Red Wings’ 24th playoff berth in a row should be reason to celebrate, there are still areas where improvement is crucial in order for the Red Wings to win games in the post-season.
Courtesy of: CBS Sports
In the game against the Canadiens, the tying and game-winning goals scored by Tomas Plekanec and Lars Eller respectively were the result of shots taken from horrible angles that somehow got by Jimmy Howard. To be fair though, last night Howard did show his ability to come up with big saves such as after the dead giveaway by Brendan Smith and the toe-save on Brian Flynn. But it is goals such as the ones by Plekanec and Eller that are representations of the turmoil the goaltending situation has been in since the beginning of March; Jimmy Howard seems to be unable to find the steady game he played pre-groin injury this year and Petr Mrazek can be described as lukewarm when it counts. No matter the big and timely saves a goalie can make in a game, if he cannot handle the rebounds or the shots from unlikely angles, winning will be very difficult.
Going into the game in Montreal, the Red Wings were 24% in power play percentage and lead the league with 70 power play goals. However, as of late the Red Wings have been unable to capitalize on the power play. Against the Canadiens they had 5 opportunities on the power play and failed to score once. In the 5 games before this game, the Red Wings have had 18 chances on the power play and have only scored 4 times. In the games last week against Ottawa, Boston, and Washington, the Red Wings had 5 power plays each game and scored one power play goal each game against the Bruins and the Capitals. It definitely could be worse-they could fail to exploit the power play at all- but the Red Wings have had the most opportunities on the power play (293 to date) out of any NHL team and imagine the possibilities if they could score more goals with the man advantage even more than they do.
It has been said time and time again that the post-season is a fresh start, a different kettle of fish. The Detroit Red Wings can play against and make it difficult for any team in the post-season but it is deciding factors such as goaltending and special teams that may cause a short post-season run if not rectified.
