Red Wings Show Commitment to D Zone Improvement in Downing ‘Hawks

The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t use their best players. Not even close. There was no Connor Bedard, or Tyler Bertuzzi or Taylor Hall.  They only fired 13 shots on the Red Wings goal in the first 40 minutes.

But Detroit goalie Alex Lyon knows this team well enough to appreciate when it is playing the right way. He liked what he saw Friday.

“The only thing that you have to look at is how Mo Seider is blocking shots,” Lyon said. “That’s not something that’s a given. And it just speaks to the level of urgency that we have.”

Receiving a contract worth $8.55 million per season for seven seasons isn’t going to alter Seider’s approach. If the Red Wings are to be an improved defensive team, Seider will be the lion leading the pride.

“It’s who he is and the DNA again, you’re trying to teach winning and habits that win and give you guys credit over two games,” Lalonde said. “We’ve been willing to do that. It’s what’s going to be needed going forward. I just think it’s so instinctive for him. ”

Red Wings Powerful Pairing

Seider boasted four block shots, and his defensive partner Ben Chiarot totaled three to pace the Red Wings to a 2-0 win against a Blackhawks team that had more prospects than veterans.  The Red Wings outscored Chicago 6-2 in the home-and-home series that began Wednesday with a 4-2 triumph .

“The way you do anything is the way you do everything,” Lyon said. “So it starts right now.”

Lyon, in a battle to be Detroit’s starting goalie, says the Red Wings know “where we want to be and how we want to play the game.”

Coach Derek Lalonde has been pushing stronger defensive play since the opening minutes of training camp. The Red Wings were 24th in goals-against average last season. If they repeat their 3.33 GAA from 2023-24, they are likely to miss the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

No matter who they match up against, there is value for this squad to get into the habit of holding the opposition to two or fewer goals.

“I thought we had an honest game for a preseason game,”  Lalonde said. “Guys winning some (battles), blocking some shots, managing the puck. So a lot of positives on that end. Young guys again showed well and I think some of our NHL guys, those guys obviously those top six I thought had a pretty solid night. So all in all, positive and a good step.”

Not many fans were paying attention to the Red Wings Friday because everyone was focused on the Detroit Tigers winning an American League wild card berth. Even the Red Wings were sneaking peaks on the big screen as the Tigers were finishing off the Chicago White Sox to punch their ticket to the postseason.

“I think Tigers might be a year ahead of schedule,” Lalonde said. “Last year we may have been probably a year ahead of schedule, but unfortunately we didn’t finish the job. The difference is they did that. So I think our guys know where we are. We’ve taken natural progressions over the last two years and we want to keep pushing that forward.