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Scoring Woes At Core of Red Wings’ Issues

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David Perron, Red Wings

The 3-0 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers was the combination of a depleted lineup and a lack of scoring. But the latter has been a problem even before the injury bug took a chunk out of the team.

Going back to their last fifteen games, the Red Wings have scored just 29 goals, an average of just 1.93 per game. Counting back, the Red Wings are just 3-12 during that stretch and came during a point in the season where Detroit was in the playoff conversation. Contrast it with the prior 10 games, where Detroit netted 34 goals and won seven of ten.

Hardly coincidental. But it’s certainly an indictment on Detroit’s current woes.

More Chances Will Provide More Scoring

Head coach Derek Lalonde was succinct when asked about the current stretch.

“I still think it’s just a matter of getting to that hard area, executing a little bit more,” Lalonde told Bally Sports Detroit’s Trevor Thompson.  “You’re going to look this one back, sometimes it’s frustrating when you don’t produce offense, but when the looks are there and you keep getting looks, it’ll come around. At least tonight for the most part I thought we had some looks.”

Sure, it’s the obvious statement. But the Red Wings have been a mash unit going back to those 15 games. It’s also worth noting that the trade deadline occurred which subtracted Tyler Bertuzzi, Filip Hronek and Oskar Sundqvist from the lineup. Of the ten games following the trade deadline, Detroit has won just three times, and have scored more than two goals in just four of those games.

The Red Wings weren’t without their chances on Saturday afternoon. They even had a flurry of chances late in the game, doing exactly what Lalonde spoke of: creating chances.

Red Wings Power Play Has Been Slightly Down

The Red Wings powerplay during the 15-game stretch has been 17.2% (10-58). Of the 50 power play goals this season, Detroit has scored 20% of them during this stretch. The season clip has been 20.2% so they’re only slightly below the season norm, which is more impressive given the current circumstances. But the 0 for seven mark against the Flyers certainly underscored the issues Lalonde spoke of.

But that seems a victory as the lineup is depleted and it appears that the final ten games might be tougher to watch for fans as the scoring woes continue, it’s just a matter of keeping at it for the players.

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Even with the power play, it comes down to converting chances.

“The power play was a big part of it tonight,” Lalonde said. “We had those chances early, didn’t cash in. Really had chances throughout the night. It was the difference.”