From The Silky Mitten State: Evaluating the Bottom Half of Detroit's D Corps

Through the early stages of the season, the Detroit Red Wings have touted the benefit of their added depth on the back-end—affording them the luxury of seven competent NHL defensemen.

However, with seven D the team feels comfortable deploying, that means one out of those seven must be a healthy scratch, or the Red Wings would have to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

In the video above (an excerpt from THN Detroit's podcast The Silky Mitten State), Connor Earegood and I discuss the benefits of the four Detroit D-men we've seen scratched so far (Shayne Gostisbehere, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, and Olli Maatta).  Then, we consider the merits of 11/7 vs. 12/6.

If you like what you hear and see above, you can listen to the full conversation and the rest of the episode on either Apple or Spotify:

The Red Wings Prioritizing Sports Science as They Arrive in Sweden

Statistical Review: Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 4

Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 4: Resilient Red Wings Earn Gritty, Cathartic Win

The Silky Mitten State Episode 3

Statistical Review: Red Wings 2, Canadiens 3 (OT)

Red Wings 2, Canadiens 3 (OT): "It Doesn't Feel Good Enough Right Now"

Lucas Raymond: "I Feel Like Every Game is Pretty Physical, and Those are Fun Games"

Red Wings 3, Rangers 5: New York Letdown

From the Archive: Conn Smythe Accuses Detroit of "Kitty-Bar-the-Door Hockey"

From Amsterdam to Montreal to the NHL: On Daniel Sprong's Long Journey Home