Everything you need to know before this afternoon's game between Detroit and the Kraken in Seattle
Everything you need to know before this afternoon's game between Detroit and the Kraken in Seattle
It hasn't been an ideal road trip out west for the Red Wings, and it certainly hasn't been a pretty one, but with one game left in the four-game western swing, Detroit has a chance to make it a successful one.
"I think you look at any trip, any time you can go .500 or more, it can be good, and that's what our focus is on tomorrow," said veteran winger David Perron after yesterday's practice in Seattle.
The Red Wings earned a blowout 5-0 win in Calgary Saturday in a game of which J.T. Compher said, "the result was probably better than it looked or felt," but the two points count just the same, and now, with a win against the Kraken, Detroit can head home with its head high.
In Seattle, an opponent awaits against whom the Red Wings have struggled. Back in December of 2021, Detroit won the first ever matchup between the two franchises in the shootout. Since then, the Kraken have beaten the Red Wings four times in a row (albeit with two requiring overtime).
When asked yesterday what he attributes his team's struggles with Seattle to, Derek Lalonde said, "I think it's their depth," before quickly adding, "I would like to think we can match up now with their depth." In Calgary Saturday, Lalonde shuffled his lines in search of a spark, and while it did not bear five-on-five fruit against the Flames, the ability to attempt that sort of reset nonetheless reflects the Red Wings' organizational progress, even on the scale of Lalonde's now almost two-season tenure.
"We have a lot of good forwards—guys that can play up and down the lineup," said Compher. "That's big for playing on the road...There's no bad players to play with." To that end, the ability to reassemble the forward corps into a new but still dangerous alignment reflects a confidence in the group's overall ability that Detroit teams of a recent vintage could not match. For long stretches, it hardly felt there were six players who belonged in a serious NHL top six; now the Red Wings have too many such talents to fit them all on the top two lines.
"People just look at depth as four lines that can score. I look at it as four lines you can trust," said Lalonde. And with that in mind, even if this recent reconstitution didn't quite gel in its first appearance on Saturday, the trust Lalonde feels encapsulates the primary reason to believe this Detroit group might just be the one to break back into the playoffs and the season's primary buzz word since training camp—added depth.
Lyon's Turn in Net after Reimer Does His Job
After James Reimer took the net Saturday in Calgary, the Red Wings will turn back to starter Alex Lyon this afternoon in Seattle. Lalonde explained at yesterday's practice that this rotation had been planned after last Thursday's defeat in Vancouver.
"We thought it'd be a nice little reset for him," Lalonde said of Lyon's night off versus the Flames. "Obviously he gave us a really good month of hockey in January, but Reimer had an unbelievable performance. These are good conversations we haven't had in a while, where our goaltending's been."
He pointed out that Lyon "got put in a really bad situation [against the Oilers] where it was gonna be a rest/reset for him, then five minutes in, he's facing McDavid and the boys" after Ville Husso went down with a first-period injury.
Of the prospect of Lyon rekindling his game after Reimer's strong performance, Lalonde said, "it's exciting we may have two [goalies] going here. Down the stretch, we're gonna need that." Reimer more than held up his end of the bargain against the Flames, and now it will be Lyon's turn to do the same against the Kraken.
PK Unsung Heroes in Rout over Flames
There are two reasons the Red Wings could win (comfortably) in Calgary, despite struggling at five-on-five: goaltending and special teams. Those two factors almost always prove decisive in any hockey game, and Saturday was no exception. Reimer was excellent, the power play got Detroit out to a lead it might not have deserved, and while those two components of the Red Wings' win might have commanded the most attention, the penalty kill also proved essential, going five-for-five en route to the 5-0 win.
The Red Wings' third goal came on a four-on-three power play, with Dylan Larkin noting after the game "Four-on-three, you get a chance like that, and you gotta make them pay." Calgary's power play had similar opportunities, with three chances in the second period then a five-on-three opportunity in the third—all of which Detroit stymied.
In fact, the Red Wing PK has not conceded since January 23rd at home against the Stars. Since then, they've completed seven full games and 18 kills without giving up a goal. A strength throughout that run has been limiting trips to the box (with no more than three kills in a single game until Saturday), but against the Flames, Detroit needed its PK five times, and all five times it came through.
While the present perfect run is of course unsustainable, it's an essential component to the Red Wings' winning formula of late.
Where to Watch
Today's game, a 3:30 puck drop, will be broad nationally by ESPN. John Buccigross will be on play-by-play duties, with Cassie Campbell-Pascall as the color analyst.
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Red Wings Bounce Back for 5-0 Rout in Calgary
Through triumphs and now struggles, Detroit's goaltending success hinges on Alex Lyon