Before the Red Wings host the Capitals for a game with massive playoff implications, read about Detroit’s aim to find emotional consistency, what the lineup will look like, plus a look at Detroit's depth from the perspective of Washington coach Spencer Carbery.
Before the Red Wings host the Capitals for a game with massive playoff implications, read about Detroit’s aim to find emotional consistency, what the lineup will look like, plus a look at Detroit's depth from the perspective of Washington coach Spencer Carbery.
The marathon of the playoff race the past couple weeks has given way to a sprint for the Red Wings. With five games remaining, in a wild card spot and with it in control of their playoff destiny, their season’s outcome will be determined by the next eight days.
Such pressure brings emotion, too. Detroit can be high on itself after wins further its playoff chances (against the Islanders and Lightning, for example), or it can sink lower in doubt if it loses games (to the Predators, Capitals and Rangers, to be exact). These contrasting feelings have been on full display the past two weeks, as wins and losses followed each other in an emotional rollercoaster.
“It’s tough, but I mean they’re easy games to get up for, obviously,” forward Alex DeBrincat said Tuesday. “We know what we have to do and it’s fun to play in these games, I think. You wake up with a little bit of extra buzz in your morning and just getting ready to go.”
In the thick of the playoff race, managing the boundary between motivation and anticipation is vital for the Red Wings. They can’t get complacent with their position or they’ll never seize its full potential, but they also can’t get frustrated if they do stumble.
The Washington Capitals who they play Tuesday are a point back and just as hungry as they are, which is bound to make the game difficult. They’re also in the same boat as Detroit in this regard — especially for their younger players — as Washington coach Spencer Carbery spoke to after morning skate.
“I know it's my job to relax them in those situations, right,” Carbery said. “This is going to be a hostile environment against a really good team that’s as desperate as we are. … We’ve got nothing to lose in this thing, and go out and show your best stuff. Don’t be paralyzed by the situation and the moment and playing on the road. Go let it hang out from a competitive standpoint, your skating speed, go after it and don’t feel like you’ve got to be nervous or tentative about anything that’s about to happen.”
Detroit has the opportunity to determine its playoff fate, but the burden of responsibility can cause some pain in the process. Still, this is exactly what teams play for, a reason why Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde has continually emphasized the beneficial lessons this stretch can teach his group.
Now, the Red Wings get to put those lessons into action against the Capitals. This game will play a role in dictating who will make the playoffs this season and who will spend a long summer thinking about what could have been. As much as Detroit can manage the emotions of its situation, the best way to control them is by continuing to stack wins.
The Lineup
In a time when they need every one of their stars to be present and at their full potential, Moritz Seider caught the Red Wings’ flu bug. Lalonde said he expected to have Seider for the game, but Seider did not participate in morning skate.
Seider’s impact is unmatched for this blue line, not only for his absorption of top matchups but also his top-end shot blocking impact — fresh off a career-high 10-block game that put him at the top of the NHL in that category. Having him at some percentage is better than not having him at all, but his effectiveness could be hampered by the illness. In practice, Jake Walman stepped into the top role for Seider as he continues to recover from a lower body injury.
The Red Wings might not have a replacement for Seider at his peak, but the aggregate of their defensive depth can make up some ground if he’s feeling under the weather. This depth is a luxury that has gotten Detroit to this point in the playoff race, and it’s that depth that could pull it forward.
At forward, Michael Rasmussen is still out, but the lineup has reverted back to a more normal looking scheme after the creation of an Andrew Copp-J.T. Compher-Christian Fischer checking line to shadow Buffalo last game. Compher is back between Patrick Kane and DeBrincat, while Robby Fabbri is with Copp and Fischer.
This balances out the checking and scoring a little more than the lineup last game, and the idea seems to be that the Red Wings can roll these lines against the Capitals. Meanwhile, Alex Lyon will follow up his 37-of-38 save performance on Sunday by starting Tuesday’s game.
For the Capitals, T.J. Oshie is a game-time decision while Ivan Miroshnichenko is out. Nicolas Aube-Kubel will play for Miroshnichenko, while Oshie will be replaced with Michael Sgarbossa if he isn’t able to play. Charlie Lindgren — who goalie’d these Red Wings pretty hard when these teams faced each other in D.C. — will get the start in net.
Carbery Discusses Impact of Red Wings’ Depth
It’s not really a secret that Detroit is a heck of a lot deeper this season, with 13 10-goal and nine 40-point scorers sprinkled throughout a competent lineup. This depth is especially prominent on the back end, however, which Carbery praised.
“There’s some deep D corps, but when you have Justin Holl and Walman sitting in the stands, it’s pretty deep,” Carbery praised. “And I feel like they — from a mobility standpoint on the back end with (Shayne) Gostisbehere and obviously Seider in that — they can do some things that in this building, Gostisbehere was a real handful for us playing his offside, one-timer option, getting up in the rush. I feel like just the overall depth of the roster and their team, it’s just been very much improved and so you’re not getting any breaks in any lines or any D pair that are going to give you a free shift.”
The concept of a free shift is an interesting one in that it displays the inability for teams to really focus on one line. Whereas shallower teams might see their top six checked and shadowed all over the ice, doing so against the Red Wings is a more difficult feat. They force opponents to either pick their poison or play them straight-up.
This concept goes for forward lines, too, where Detroit’s crafty approach to offense maximizes its depth. From Carbery’s assessment, its use of F3 high in the offensive zone opens up a lot of options that are harder for teams like his Capitals to diagnose. Space creates more threats, and the Red Wings are good at controlling it through their passing and their depth.
“We played them more recently in our building and I felt like we did a pretty good job against their speed,” Carbery said. “Those (top) two lines especially you’ve got to be careful with, of giving up those middle entries, finding trailers. And they get a little bit more spread out with their attack where when teams have two guys at the net front and the slot, it’s a little bit easier to sort. When you get DeBrincat and Kane moving around and now all of a sudden there’s four or even five guys at times around the perimeter, it gets a little bit hard for our coverage to identify and close the zone.”
Carbery is well-acquainted with the effects after Kane scored a late, tying goal off such a perimeter chance the last time these teams played. Depth doesn’t just allow the Red Wings to field multiple competent lines, but it also allows them to field numerous offensive options each play that confounds opponents who haven’t properly prepared to stop them.
If Detroit can do this against the wary Capitals this time around, it will be in a far better chance to win the game.
Where to Watch
For the second straight game, the Bally Sports Detroit crew won’t be calling the game. Tuesday’s game will air on ESPN, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.
Other Games to Watch
With the playoff race hot, here are the other games you should be watching tonight and tomorrow to stay up to date:
Philadelphia Flyers at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m., ESPN+
New York Rangers at New York Islanders, 7 p.m., ESPN+
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