Ahead of the Red Wings' game against Colorado, read about how Detroit can contain Nathan MacKinnon and Colorado's offense, Christian Fischer's third assist impact, plus notes on the expected lineups.
Ahead of the Red Wings' game against Colorado, read about how Detroit can contain Nathan MacKinnon and Colorado's offense, Christian Fischer's third assist impact, plus notes on the expected lineups.
Almost exactly two weeks ago, the Red Wings completed a 2-1 overtime win over Colorado, flourished with an octopus and all. It was a win that largely showed that this Detroit team, at full strength, can hang with even the toughest playoff teams. But now, the temperature has largely changed.
Detroit is on a two-game losing skid, and it’s without captain Dylan Larkin for a big four-game road trip. Against a Colorado team whose offense ranks second to none, the Red Wings will be without their leading scorer Wednesday night as they look to kick off their trip on the right note.
“If we're going to be successful, especially with Dylan out, it’s about keeping it out of our net,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said Tuesday. “Certainly no shame in losing to the Islanders and Florida — I mean, Florida is beating everyone right now. But now you’re looking at a two-game losing streak and you’re on the road at Colorado undermanned a little bit. It’s just different. I think it comes down to a mental battle of stopping those stretches, and it starts with keeping it out of your net.”
Getting a win in Denver requires preventing the Avalanche offense from scoring an avalanche of goals. It’s a fitting mascot for a team featuring the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, all of whom sit in the top 20 scorers in the NHL. They’re unstoppable at times, undeniable at others, and all-in-all a significant challenge for a hamstrung Red Wings team to keep pace with.
Even Detroit coach Derek Lalonde acknowledged the difficulty in quelling Colorado’s firepower, especially MacKinnon.
“I remember last week someone was telling me how bad our puck luck was because we had been hitting all those posts,” Lalonde said. “I said ‘Well, I think puck luck is Nathan MacKinnon having the puck in the slot 12 different times and it only going in once. The hockey gods were in our favor there. It’s just a player you’re never gonna completely shut down — you have to contain him. We took two points here because we limited him to one goal. He’s a different animal.”
Losing Larkin hurts the Red Wings’ overall strength — he’s the best player on this team, and his speed and positioning lend themselves to good defense. But with Joe Veleno and Av-turned-Red-Wing J.T. Compher likely to see increased minutes with Larkin out, those two centers can lean into their defensive abilities to make a difference. As Lalonde pointed out, blanking MacKinnon isn’t a reasonable goal. However, the more Detroit can contain a rollicking Colorado offense, the better its chances of leaving Ball Arena with points.
The Lineups
Without Larkin, expect Detroit to lean on Veleno a lot more than usual. Lalonde said as much on Monday, when he skated Veleno with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat because of the pace he brings. The Red Wings are also fortunate to have Compher in their stable, as they can lean on him to help offset the Larkin hole in a way they couldn’t last time he was out.
Larkin’s absence also opens up a hole on the power play, which Andrew Copp appears to be filling per practice lines. The Ann Arbor native has 22 career power play points in pretty sparing minutes.
In net, the Red Wings are likely to use Alex Lyon this time around considering that this is the most difficult start of their road trip. Last time he faced Colorado, he stopped 30 out of 31 shots.
For Colorado, the lineup should look something similar to their last lineup in Monday’s 5-0 win over Chicago. However, in net my hunch is that Alexandar Georgiev might get the start considering that backup Justus Annunen just played Monday.
Editor's Note: Soon after publication of this article, the Avalanche traded center Ryan Johansen to Philadelphia for defenseman Sean Walker, then picked up center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo for young defenseman Bowen Byram. Whether the newest Avs can join the lineup before facing Detroit is unknown, but it certainly changes the complexion of this Colorado lineup.
Versatile Christian Fischer Bringing Center Depth
Since Lalonde split him up from an identity line with Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen, Christian Fischer has played fourth line center the past few games alongside Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong. With his high energy play, Fischer has continued to provide a pesky flavor to the bottom six that is creating scoring chances. His willingness to play center has also freed up the likes of Copp and Rasmussen to play higher in the lineup.
“Wherever he is in our lineup, we just ask him to win shifts for us and he does that,” Lalonde said of Fischer. “He's predictable, he’s simple. He gets his nose over pucks. He goes to hard areas. ... You look at a lot of our offense, you look at a lot of our sustained zone time — it’s usually him keeping the forecheck alive. It’s him getting over a puck, winning a battle. It’s him being net front in a shot scramble situation. He’s been a very, very valuable player for us this year.”
Fischer has been the king of third assists, which Larkin gave praise to back in early February. The Chicagoan forward wins pucks along the boards, blocks shots in the defensive zone and quickly gets up ice to cause chaos. He might not have the box score allure of some of his teammates at two goals and 14 assists in 58 games. However, a lot of his work has gone under the radar.
“Not even just me — there’s so many guys that do such little plays on the ice,” Fischer said Feb. 9. “A lot of the stuff comes from the D zone just interrupting a pass or getting the puck out on the wall, so many things that lead to the end result. I think that’s kind of the cliche third assist. … You look at almost all of our goals, there’s probably another guy that deserves a lot of the credit.”
It’s humble that Fischer points to his success as a team-wide phenomenon, but the value he adds is hard to ignore. Because while his third assists aren’t logged on any box score, the wins it translates to matter more.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game will be broadcast nationally on TNT. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
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