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Patrick Kane continues to deal with an injury as Detroit has placed him on IR retroactive to 11/23. Interestingly the club called up defenseman William Lagesson.
To say that defense has been an issue for Detroit, the Penalty Kill in particular, would be an understatement. The swap in Personnel is exacerbated by Detroit’s 32nd ranked PK. Most of you are fairly savvy to the Trapezoid style penalty kill. In execution, the players have to make decisions in real time of when to “hand off” coverage of any given player in order to keep a structure that minimizes gaps and missed coverage. At this point, it doesn’t seem to be working. Detroit averages about 1 power play goal against per game.
Boston (12-11-3) coming to Detroit (10-11-3) is particularly interesting. The Bruins moved on from their head coach (who essentially had about 3 days off before being hired by St. Louis) in a move that signaled that ownership/management were not pleased with the results thus far. This type of move has been something Detroit fans have bandied about throughout the first quarter of the season. Some sign that the club is invested in sending a message that right now, even for a rebuild, the results are unacceptable. Instead it’s been eerily quiet.
The stats:
Detroit still has a strong stand on the man advantage and almost nothing else.
Power Play: DET 27.8%(4th). BOS 11.7% (32nd)
PK. DET 65.2%(32nd). BOS 78.5% (20th)
Faceoff: DET 50.4%(16th). BOS 51.9%(10th)
Goals for. DET 2.63 (25th). BOS 2.46 (30th)
GA. DET 3.17 (23rd). BOS 3.08 (17th)
So the league’s worst PK in Detroit will face the leagues worst power play in Boston. A clash of the shite-ans.
What seems to be the predominant back and forth in the comments and in conversation is: A - Detroit has no interest in making meaningful changes, B - Detroit struck out on the players they sought after and ended up in a bad spot.
Whatever the case, the team will hit the ice again tonight. It looks like ESPN+ and HULU are the “where to watch”. For those who missed it, there was a commercial that re-emphasized the point in the last tilt. Comcast is looking to spin off broadcasting (MSNBC is for sale along with a few others) and get a streaming partner. The commercial - Comcast, your home for streaming live sports. There isn’t a full “broadcast buzz” for this, just an observation. The landscape is changing.
Let me know your thoughts on whether Detroit will look to make a move, has Kane’s surgery “caught up with him”, and is LaLonde safe for the season? Raymond has heated up and apparently his golf game is in part to thank. He’s now sewing the palms of his golf gloves into his hockey gloves for a better grip. Mad scientist, but it’s working for him.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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