The Detroit Red Wings are now enjoying a four-game winning streak, which includes a three-game road sweep in California, following a lackluster string of games in December. The run of wins can be attributed, above all, to Alex Lyon’s rise to prominence as the team’s best goaltender. It’s possible, though, that the penalty kill’s efficacy is being overlooked.
Lyon has undoubtedly been the team’s greatest penalty taker, and he bears most of the credit for that accomplishment because to his superb positioning and even more amazing gymnastics when he does need to stretch out to make a stop. On the PK, though, the team as a whole has improved. Detroit has currently gone 22 games without conceding a goal on penalty kills and has allowed just one power play goal in the last 35 shorthanded opportunities. Their current hot streak has increased their PK% to 81.9%, which puts them 11th in the league.
The Detroit Red Wings have become more aggressive and better at killing penalties.
Currently, all those figures could appear to be nothing more than statistics. Nonetheless, one can observe the on-ice performance. The game against Edmonton on Thursday night was the best example, as Moritz Seider and Jake Walman shut down star Connor McDavid the entire time. Specifically on the penalty kill, it appeared that they had altered their true strategy for playing shorthanded. They used home-ice advantage in their matchups and were aggressive. Quick action was taken to remove loose pucks from the front of the net. I had not seen play with a physical edge to clear up the trash in front in Detroit for a while. I could almost say it reminded me of a hard-fought playoff game. The players have accepted the system modifications made by the coaching staff.
This season, the Red Wings have not been lacking in offensive production. In fact, their goal total puts them atop the Eastern Conference right now. This club might be able to fight their way back into the discussion of taking Hockeytown to the postseason if the goalie holds up and they can keep playing as a unit to prevent the opposition from scoring power-play goals.
Detroit’s next challenging run starts this weekend with games against Los Angeles and Toronto. The Detroit Red Wings will try to outscore other contender teams in the standings.
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