The post It’s Simple, Really: Red Wings Just Can’t Score appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.
Mason Appleton
There are myriad reasons why the Detroit Red Wings find themselves adrift and on the outside looking in when it comes to the NHL playoff race. Ultimately, though, it comes down to one pertinent fact.
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They just can’t score.
The Red Wings have won only eight of their past 23 games. Over that span, they are averaging 2.347 goals per game.
In 12 of those 23 games, the Red Wings have scored two or fewer goals. They are 2-9-1 in those games.
It’s hard to win the race to three, as Detroit coach Todd McLellan likes to categorize NHL games, when you can’t even get to three.
McLellan believes that his team’s inability to find the back of the net consistently creates a vicious cycle that ultimately leads to their downfall.
“Sometimes, I think we’re chasing goals because we haven’t scored a lot, so we’re paying the price for it defensively,” McLellan said. “And then when we focus defensively, we give up the offensive part.
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“We’ve got to get both parts of our game going at the same time. When we do find that, we’ll give ourselves at least an opportunity to win.”
So Many Red Wings Are Struggling Offensively
What’s further perplexing about the issue is the sheer number of Red Wings players who are enduring dry spells when it comes to goal scoring. Mason Appleton has scored one goal over the past 33 games.
Andrew Copp has scored one goal in 24 games, and James van Riemsdyk has tallied once in 21 games. Before he was injured, Michael Rasmussen was pointless in 22 games. David Perron is also pointless through eight games since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators.
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JT Compher has two goals in 21 games, while Marco Kasper has netted a pair through the past 17 games. Emmitt Finnie has one goal in 12 games.
“We’re on our heels,” Captain Dylan Larkin said. “We’re not creating bounces for ourselves.”
Five players – Lucas Raymond (four), Alex DeBrincat (four), Patrick Kane (four), Dominik Shine (three), and Larkin (two) – have accounted for 54.8% of Detroit’s last 31 goals. And despite his three goals in 14 games since being recalled from the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings made Shine a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s loss at Pittsburgh.
The post It’s Simple, Really: Red Wings Just Can’t Score appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.