Red Wings thoughts after 10 games: Detroit better be ready to handle ups and downs
For long stretches of the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders Monday, a very different outcome seemed inevitable.
Ilya Sorokin looked nearly unbeatable in net for New York. Detroit had given up an untimely short-handed goal late in the second period, and then an early marker a minute into the third. Usually, that story ends only one way.
A furious rally in the third period, featuring goals from Daniel Sprong, Jake Walman and J.T. Compher, turned that on its head before Lucas Raymond’s overtime winner ensured the Red Wings would leave Long Island with two points. But still, as the Red Wings pulled into the 10-game mark Monday night, their picture looked a lot more complex than it did through the euphoria of their roaring start.
Yes, the standings still list Detroit in a lofty position, sitting at 6-3-1. Yes, their offensive output continues to rank among the league’s best. But as the season settles in, the Red Wings’ challenges have started to show as well, and that’s certainly going to make for some more highs and lows over the next 72 games. Let’s dive in.
1. While Detroit’s gaudy 4.00 goals per game marker is still sparkling near the top of the league leaderboard, eight of the Red Wings’ last nine periods have told a different story. Entering the third period Monday night, they had just two goals in that span.
During the Red Wings’ hot run to start the year, I had written in this space that Detroit’s shooting percentage was ripe for major regression, and it showed up quickly. Some of that you can chalk up to the elite goaltending the Red Wings were facing, with Connor Hellebuyck stonewalling them last week in Detroit, and Sorokin doing the same for two periods Monday. And while Boston’s Jeremy Swayman isn’t on that level, he’s a darn good goalie in his own right and happens to play behind the league’s best team defense. Add that up, and it was an easy recipe for a rocky stretch.
Detroit, though, had its own shortcomings in that span. A lack of traffic to the net around Hellebuyck. A power play that suddenly (and predictably) went quiet after a blazing start. And at times, some forced, or overly casual, plays that smacked of a team needing to remember offense wouldn’t always come so easy. On the Islanders’ short-handed goal Monday, Alex DeBrincat stickhandled a puck right into the heart of the Islanders’ defense, leading to the turnover and goal the other way.
