Red Wings Lack of Scoring Adds to Previous Problem

The Detroit Red Wings struggled last season, finishing outside the playoffs at ninth in the Eastern Conference. The team made strides but fell just short (tied with the Washington Capitals at 91 points). Unfortunately, this season has not seen a marked improvement, with the Red Wings worse by several metrics and currently sitting at 13th in the East with an 8-10-2 record.

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What’s gone wrong for the Red Wings?

Last season, the big critique of the team was that they could score a ton, but not defend. 9th in goals for with 275, they were also 9th in goals against with 273. Their defense couldn’t shut opposing players down and their goaltending didn’t measure up. This season, things have gotten worse.

While their goals against is around the middle of the pack, their goals have dropped considerably. They can’t seem to score, despite having some solid offensive weapons. With only 49 goals this season (a 2.45 goals per game clip), they are 31st in the NHL.

Putting a Finger on the Problem for the Red Wings Is Tricky

The biggest issue in Detroit might be trying to find a way to identify what’s wrong.

Max Bultman of The Athletic writes:

The Red Wings have struggled mightily to score this season, dropping from a top-10 scoring team last season to the bottom 10. This 2.53 (now 2.45) figure is nearly a full goal lower than their 2023-24 pace, at 3.35. Even more jarring is that’s all despite a power play clicking to the tune of 30.2 percent, a top-five unit in the league. There’s nuance in why the drop-off has been so significant, including roster changes, an increased emphasis on defensive responsibility, and just plain old struggles to generate and maintain zone time, but the result has been a team that simply hasn’t scored enough — a big reason Detroit has found itself underperforming so far in the standings.

It’s easy to say the team just needs to score more, but it’s not always so figure out how to make that happen. When you have players like Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Vladimir Tarasenko on your roster, you expect to see goals. They just aren’t coming and if the team can’t keep goals out of their own net, it’s going to be a long season.

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