With 13 games remaining in the 2024-25 NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings are five games out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. This is despite the team playing better under new head coach Todd McLellan. The Red Wings nearly made the Stanley Cup playoffs after the 2023-24 season under Derek Lalonde but were eliminated on the last day of the season. What is to blame for the team not making the playoffs?
The Red Wings have given up seven power-play goals in their last 10 games, losing eight of these games. The team currently has the worst penalty killing percentage in the league, killing off 69% of their penalties. This would be a historically low penalty-killing percentage. Special teams are an important part of the game of hockey, and the Red Wings have struggled to perform when down one man on the ice. After McLellan saw the Red Wings at his first practice as head coach, he told the team to “play f—king hockey, you’ve done it your whole lives.”
In the last 10 games, the first penalty killing unit for the Red Wings has consisted of J.T. Compher and Tyler Motte at forward and Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider on defense. Chiarot has averaged 21 minutes on the ice during these 10 games at 33 years old. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has averaged the second-most time on ice of any defenseman besides Seider. This is despite young defenseman Simon Edvinsson developing into a top-pair defenseman during the 2024-25 season.
The Red Wings did kill off four of the five power plays that the Utah Hockey Club was given during a recent game against them. The Red Wings won their first game at the Delta Center by a score of 5-1. This win came after McLellan sent not-so-subtle messages to certain Red Wings on the roster. The Red Wings only managed to put 13 shots on goal against the Hockey Club goalie Karel Vejmelka, which is not necessarily surprising. At only 28.6 shot attempts per game, the Red Wings have the 25th most of any team in the NHL.
Additionally, the Red Wings rank in the bottom five in the NHL in Corsi For percentage. This is a formula used to approximate puck possession. The Red Wings have been mired in low event hockey since the coaching tenure of Jeff Blashill. This continued under Lalonde. It will take time for the Red Wings to adapt to the coaching system of McLellan. The Red Wings have a record of 20-14-2 under McLellan.
Goaltender Petr Mrazek was replaced by Alex Lyon 1:38 into the game after Mrazek was run into by right-winger Dylan Guenther. The Red Wings announced the call-up of goaltender Sebastian Cossa, which suggests that the Mrazek injury may be long-term. That the Red Wings have two other goalies on the roster who are healthy may be an indication of how they feel about Lyon and Cam Talbot. I have written in the past that Cossa is an important part of the Red Wings’ rebuild.
McLellan did not divulge much information about Mrazek’s injury after the game against the Hockey Club. “He won’t be available for us the rest of this trip, obviously,” McLellan said of Mrazek’s status. “We’ve only got one game tomorrow, and he wasn’t scheduled to play. So, when we get back to Detroit, he’ll get evaluated. We’ve got the other two that we can play.” With so few games left in the 2024-25 season, the Red Wings may be better served to end Mrazek’s season not to risk further injury.
ITR 31: Let Them Fight – Inside The Rink
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