Repeating Success and Fourth-Line Stability: A Red Wings-Penguins Game Day Notebook
Ahead of the Detroit Red Wings taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins, today’s Game Day Notebook focuses on how Detroit can repeat its success after finally breaking its losing streak.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports - Repeating Success and Fourth-Line Stability: A Red Wings-Penguins Game Day NotebookThe Red Wings’ losing streak is dead, but is it really over?
While Detroit snapped a seven-game slump with Saturday’s 4-1 win over Buffalo, tonight’s game at Pittsburgh is a chance to ensure that its losing ways are truly over rather than that one win being an anomaly. But the difficulty of repeating a successful outing will be tough against a Penguins team that’s more talented than its standing in the bottom four teams of the Eastern Conference.
It’s hard to bring up playoff hockey on the heels of such a dismal two weeks of hockey, but the Red Wings still have a shot to make the wild card if they can replicate their success against Buffalo.
“We dictate what’s going to happen if we go on a good run here and then put together a couple of wins,” forward Christian Fischer said Saturday. “And we know how that’s gonna work and how difficult these next three, four weeks are. But we control our own destiny and what else do you want? Obviously everyone could look at the negative side but we’re in a playoff hunt with 16, 17 games left to go. That’s why we play hockey.”
It’s also why Detroit needs to play good hockey down the stretch. It’s knocking on the door of the playoffs for the first time in seven years, and that mounts a ton of pressure for it to break through. Whereas the past two weeks saw a total derailment for just about every one of the Red Wings’ units, their performance against the Sabres saw a lot of them correct their course. The bottom six forechecked and pressured Buffalo relentlessly, and the defense surrendered fewer scoring threats. Combined with a calmer first period than most as of late, and Detroit has plenty to like about its performance on Saturday.
For Detroit coach Derek Lalonde, the process his team used to win is an encouraging sign at a crucial time of the season.
“Again, (it) has a lot to do with the results, but again, it was the way we did it,” Lalonde said Saturday. “If we weren’t able to solve their goalie who is arguably playing top level in the league right now, and we lose that game 2-1 in overtime type thing, we’d still be happy with our process. So again, of course we needed a win, but the way we did it was important.”
The Red Wings will have to do all of that again against a Pittsburgh team that still has some star power — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson to be exact. The Penguins might not be a playoff team, but they aren’t a cakewalk. Given how Detroit played poorly against some worse opponents during the losing streak, Pittsburgh isn’t a team to take lightly.
The Lineup
Detroit’s lineup should look a lot similar to the team that took the ice against Buffalo given how well it controlled play. The biggest question is what the Red Wings plan to do in net. James Reimer played well against Buffalo, surrendering a goal he probably wanted back in the first period but stopping the other 25 shots he faced. Playing both games of a back-to-back is tough for a goaltender, though.
“We’re gonna still talk that through as a staff,” Lalonde said. “Obviously the instinct would be to go back with him after a win, but he’s 35 and not many goalies in this league go back to back. So probably get a better feel here and consult with our goalie coach and go from there.”
If Reimer doesn’t play, then Detroit would roll with starter Alex Lyon, who has struggled as of late. He lost his past six starts, posting a sub-.900 save percentage in his past seven.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will start Alex Nedeljkovic, the former Red Wings goaltender who signed with the Penguins during the offseason. He has also been in a rut as of late, losing his past three starts with a sub-.850 save percentage. However, he stopped all four shots he faced in relief in Pittsburgh’s 7-4 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Daniel Sprong Helps Fourth Line Stabilize its Play for Detroit
Lalonde didn’t sugarcoat it, Detroit’s fourth line was hard to trust during the Red Wings’ losing streak. It surrendered lots of chances and spent a lot of time in its own defensive third. Against Buffalo, however, that line checked and pressured in a performance that helped Detroit secure its win. That included the 3-1 goal from Daniel Sprong, tonight's noted birthday boy and Penguins alumnus.
“Again, the goal is great, but (Sprong) did some other things away from the puck, which was a positive,” Lalonde said. “That was a really good line for us today. We got in some issues on the road. We couldn't play the quote unquote fourth line. They gave up a ton of goals, they were getting pinned. It was a huge positive for us, and it’s a good sign going on the road.”
Sprong was particularly good in transition against Buffalo, using his speed to stretch the defense entering the zone and generating chances off it. In the first period, he also created Detroit’s first good chance off a rush play thanks to a sage stretch pass by Austin Czarnik. Overall, Sprong was a zone entry machine for Detroit, leading the team in that department according to data collected by Corey Sznajder. Whereas Buffalo already struggled with the Red Wings’ top six, Sprong and the fourth line kept the Sabres on their toes.
It’s fairly obvious that such strong play from the fourth line helps Detroit at a key point in the season. For a team that thumps its depth as a strength, rolling four lines can create defensive headaches for opponents that not only create its own chances, but also takes attention off of the top six. If teams have to worry about Sprong and his linemates, they can’t focus on the top six as much. In terms of complementary hockey, that’s a significant advantage.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game starts at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NHL Network and Bally Sports Detroit. It can also be streamed on Bally Sports+.
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