Red Wings-Sabres Look Ahead & Where to Watch
As Detroit seeks improved consistency, here's more on the Red Wings' desire to feed the forecheck, power play approach, and everything else you need to know ahead of tonight's game against Buffalo
DETROIT—Tonight at 7 PM, the Detroit Red Wings (4-5-1) will host the Buffalo Sabres (4-6-1) at Little Caesars Arena. For the home team, the word of the day is consistency, as the Red Wings look to replicate the game they've shown flashes of in the season's early going but struggled to sustain.
"There's a little familiarity obviously, just playing them a week ago...It's a really talented team: doesn't need much to create offense, some elite-type players," said coach Derek Lalonde after this morning's skate. "I think it's important on us not to give them easy offense, and then maybe hopefully dictate a little bit more. Maybe the first period versus Edmonton, maybe the second period versus Winnipeg. I just [want] a little more consistency with our overall play."
Alex DeBrincat had a similar message this morning. When asked to assess his team's start to the season, the Farmington Hills-born winger replied, "Still a little inconsistent. We've had some good games, some really good periods, and haven't played a full 60 for enough games, so I think our starts are very important. We had a poor start last game that kinda put us behind the eight ball, and we've gotta figure that out."
To DeBrincat, the key to channeling the best of the Red Wings' game (say the first period against Edmonton or the second against the Jets, as Lalonde named) lies in concentration. "I think it's just focus," the diminutive winger said. "Certain spots of the game we're really focused, and we need that attitude the whole game, and it hasn't been there enough. I think if we can come out tonight going and have that killer mentality and get pucks back and play in their zone—Like I said, we haven't had enough of that, and I think we need more."
Lineup: Tarasenko in, Motte Needs More Time, Gustafsson in for Holl, Talbot Starts
After he missed Wednesday's game with flu-like symptoms, Vladimir Tarasenko is officially in for tonight's contest. Meanwhile, Tyler Motte—who has been absent since Oct. 17, but nearing a return throughout the week—will need a bit more time before he is able to return to game action, which will likely happen this coming Wednesday in Chicago. "Probably give him a little more time, more probably take advantage of the schedule, with again two full practices this week, before we play again, probably being a little cautious there," Lalonde said this morning. With Tarasenko back in and Motte still out, here's how the Red Wings forwards will align this evening:
That top six reflects a tweak from what Detroit had been rolling with for the last two games, with Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond switching places. This morning, DeBrincat—who has played plenty alongside Dylan Larkin, with both Raymond and Kane—stressed that nothing really changes in his game, based on the winger opposite him. "I think both are very skilled and great with the puck, so for me, it's finding open ice, forechecking, getting pucks back, and doing things that way," he told THN. "I think hard work's gonna win most of the nights, and I think we just gotta keep working hard."
Meanwhile, on the back end, Detroit's top two pair (Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider & Ben Chiarot-Jeff Petry) remain unchanged, but Erik Gustafsson will fold back in for Justin Holl. "We're down to seven [after the Olli Maatta trade]," Lalonde said of that decision. "[We'd] love to get all seven going, maybe even potentially a rotation. We'll take it game by game, but Holl will be out tonight."
Cam Talbot will start in net for the Red Wings.
Top Power Play Rolling without Traditional Net-Front Player
Of late, the Red Wings have deployed a top power play unit of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Moritz Seider. None of those are particularly controversial inclusions; that's arguably the Red Wings' top four offensive forwards alongside their do-it-all number one D. However, that quintet doesn't include a traditional net-front player. Instead, it's a unit that affords some fluidity to DeBrincat, Larkin, and Raymond to exchange positions and hunt open ice around the net.
"It's something we're kinda working through," explained Lalonde this morning. "The idea with is we still need to get around the hard area. We still need to take the goalies eyes when need be, but sometimes, with a power play like that, you're looking to manipulate the PK a little bit, with some really fast good puck movement. The idea is to have good sticks around the net in those hard areas. Both goals were very similar the other day with some quick plays around the net. There's ways you can work through the power play to be successful. Obviously, it's been scoring of late for us, but it's something we're constantly working through...not having that traditional net-front guy."
At the end of the day, Lalonde stressed that neither scheme, nor personnel is as important as work rate and puck movement, saying, "It's about us. When we're winning puck battles, when we're getting fast movement on the power play, it's successful, no matter who's in any position."
Feeding the Forecheck
One through line from the Red Wings' best hockey has been the success of the forecheck. When Detroit is at its best, that aspect of its game manifests in an ability to reliably drive play to the offensive zone and keep it there. Per DeBrincat, forcing turnovers and making the skilled but run-and-gun Sabres defend will be a key to success this evening: "They obviously have good offense as well, so I think if we can make them turnover pucks, we're gonna get our chances. And...hopefully hem them in their zone. That's something we haven't done too much this year is get some zone time and really get 'em tired down there, so if we can do that today, I think we'll score some goals."
With that said, Lalonde doesn't want his team to abstain entirely from attacking off the rush; instead, he wants his team to pick it spots well and also recognize that lots of teams will emphasize taking away rush offense. "We're not gonna forecheck just to forecheck," Lalonde said yesterday. "If you have time and space, if you've done your work out of your zone and in the neutral zone and you can take a quality entry, have a purpose with your entry, we just don't want to rely on the forecheck. But a lot of teams, they gap well, and they take away the rush, and it has to be off the forecheck. Of course, we wanna feed that forecheck with good puck placement."
"I think we just gotta do a better job of analyzing the play and making the most out of it," echoed Seider yesterday to THN, when asked about the balance between creating off the rush and forecheck. "Sometimes it's easier just to get a shot off and create a little bit of a scramble and force their D into bad situations. I think we can definitely with that try to maximize our chances."
As for what it looks like to effectively feed that forecheck, Seider explained that it hast to start with keeping dump-ins away from the opposing goaltender and from there, a successful forecheck requires five-man connectivity. "If we have to rim it, we have to get it by him," he said. "Or we just gotta put it into places where we can hunt the puck very well, maybe even get a first touch. And then we just gotta be connected. I think in the games when we're clicking, we're moving well, obviously the forecheck is very connected, and we're moving up as a unit of five and we don't get stretched out. I think that's what costs us if we're not establishing our forecheck. Sometimes it's just one step or two steps not being there can make a big difference in the other team breaking the puck out or not."
As Seider pointed out, when done correctly, that sort of connectivity between all five skaters can make the opponent feel as though Detroit has extra bodies on the ice. "We've just gotta make sure if we go up there, we're a unit of five, and if we can do that, it feels that we have five or even six, seven guys at the ice at all times, and it's hard for the opponent to find holes in the system," he said. That connectivity will be something to keep an eye in gauging the Red Wings' effectiveness this evening.
Where to Watch
Tonight's game will be on its usual television homes. That means FanDuel Sports Network Detroit for fans in the Detroit market and ESPN+ for those outside of it. As always, 97.1 The Ticket will be on the radio call.
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