The Detroit Red Wings have some moving parts, but most of all they want to move forward.
They host the New York Rangers on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+/Hulu) in a rematch of Monday's meeting, which the Wings lost, 4-1. Wednesday's practice was heavy on special teams, again, as the Wings' inability to take advantage on power plays is a key reason they're 1-2-0.
"We probably all thought we'd be coming in and having a lot of success on the power play this year," Patrick Kane said Wednesday. "It's a little disappointing not to have much through the first three games.
"It's definitely a point of emphasis. We want to be successful on it, and it helps get your top guys going, too."
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They're also in a bit of flux about filling out their lineup. Top-six forward Vladimir Tarasenko missed practice because he's under the weather, but coach Derek Lalonde sounded like Tarasenko will be available Thursday. Forward Christian Fischer (upper body) did practice and may be available; if not, the Wings will have to bring up someone. When they needed a forward Monday, it was Austin Watson.
Defenseman Justin Holl was back at practice, recalled a day after he was assigned to the minors. He has played well in his two appearances, and will be in again Thursday. Defenseman Jeff Petry (upper body) isn't expected to be ready Thursday. Instead, Lalonde indicated defenseman Erik Gustafsson will rejoin the lineup after being scratched the last two games.
The Wings need Gustafsson to show he can man the point on the first power play unit, which factored into the decision to sign him in free agency. It made such a difference to have Shayne Gostisbehere there last season — he led the team with 29 power play points — but he wasn't re-signed. The other Wing whose departure is especially noticed on power plays is forward David Perron, who contributed 17 points and an untold amount of puck retrievals. The Wings don't have anybody this season to fill those roles quite as ably.
"We don't have perfect personnel as far as net-front hands, all those, but we have a lot of good options," Lalonde said. "We have to keep working at them, find some chemistry."
The only Wing with a power play goal is Alex DeBrincat, dating to a five-on-three advantage during the opening-night loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Wings created chances on the first power play they had that night, in the first period while they were up 1-0; they also had a good power play on an early one in New York.
"I feel like we've had some good looks, we've had some chances right around the net, some back-door plays," Kane said. "We've got to capitalize on those and then maybe get a little bit lucky on some of them. Last game, it probably would have been nice to get a couple more looks than we had. The first couple might have been OK, but after that, there wasn't too much going on."
But the bottom line is they have one goal to show for 11 opportunities.
"Obviously it's frustrating, we only have the one goal," Lalonde said. "We've needed it. I think a couple of those games could have looked a little different with finishing on the power play. With that said, we've averaged almost 5½ chances on the power play, so at least we are getting those looks. But, we have to start putting them in the back of the net."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames .
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Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings , A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon , Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings dealing with moving parts & inert power play
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