When the biggest and most beautiful Detroit Red Wings of the 90s and early 2000s reached the playoffs last time, the NHL world was in a very different position, even for Finns. The Finns’ point exchange in the NHL was won with 60 (18+42) power points Jussi Jokinen by and for example the second best Finnish goal scorer was from Toronto Leo Komarov.
We lived through the 2015-2016 season.
Soon after, Detroit began to build a new future – a project was started that never seemed to be finished. Last season, Detroit won 19 games, the previous season only 17. Although quality players from the younger generation had already entered, the situation was nightmarish for the club.
– No one wanted to watch that drama of suffering. For a long time, Detroit’s play consisted of excessively long turnovers and lazy defense. The guys were like rock stars, Urheilu’s expert Ismo Lehkonen recalls Detroit’s previous seasons.
On the other hand, at the same time, a club legend by Steve Yzerman returning to the car city in the role of vice president and sports boss has created faith in the Red Wings’ return to the top. Yzerman was instrumental in building the NHL’s latest dynasty, Tampa Bay, before returning to his old hometown.
Yzerman has renewed and rejuvenated the team and the latest change took place in the summer in the coaching department. Jeff Blashill was allowed to leave and was replaced by Yzerman, who had worked as an assistant coach for a long time in Tampa Derek Lalonde. Lalonde managed to win By Jon Cooper two Stanley Cups as a couple in Tampa.
– He has been successful in the ECHL league, he has been successful in the AHL and most recently won two Stanley Cups in Tampa. When you remember how the rock stars in Detroit used to play, that kind of laxness has now been cleaned out of the game. Lalonde has valued everyone as equal, and trust is gained by working hard in two directions, says Lehkonen.
The end result is an excellent early season. Detroit has won seven of its first 12 games and is currently riding a three-game winning streak.
Lehkonen highlighted a few important themes behind Detroit’s excellent autumn.
Ville Husso
It’s impossible to talk about the fall of Detroit without bringing up Ville Hussoa. The HIFK graduate, who moved from St. Louis to Detroit and is playing as a clear first goalie for the first time in his career, has been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL autumn – if not the best. Husson’s save percentage (94.1) is the fourth best in the league and his save percentage (92.3) is the third best in dangerous goal posts.
The GSAA reading tells you how many goals a goalkeeper saves in relation to the league average. Husson’s reading is almost eight goals (7.9 goals plus), ranking third.
– Let’s accept the idea of one of the best players in the league, Lehkonen begins.
– He has lost only one game in regular time and that is great. Over the course of a few years, Ville has pulled himself into top shape, and now that he’s in his prime, he understands that it’s enough to do his own thing. Tidying up the game has also helped Husso, although winning booths will continue to be needed from time to time.
Olli Määttä (and Filip Hronek)
Having bounced from club to club in recent years Olli in Määtä, 28, has had his difficulties on the way, but is now walking. The ground has been played by a Czech defender Filip Hron too with good hockey, being one of the surprise pack pairs in the fall season in the NHL. Määtä has a good five in the power statistics, Hronek seven hits.
The duo has also racked up thirteen (2+11) power points in twelve matches.
The two have protected their own goal excellently. At the mark of 100 minutes played, the duo’s PDO reading (106.2) is the fourth best in the entire league in a 5-5 game. The reading is obtained by adding up the team’s shooting and save percentage. Detroit has controlled more than 59 percent of dangerous scoring opportunities during the duo’s tenure, ranking 13th in the league.
Not a single hit has been made for the couple from the first sector.
Playing a pair, and especially Määtä, is often basically safe without major subtleties. Määtä has trouble with foot speed at times, but this compensates for challenges in movement with intelligence, positioning and fighting toughness. On the puck, Määtta is capable of good opening plays, but on the other hand, does not take unnecessary risks.
The Finn’s painful ice time average of more than 20 minutes tells something about the duo’s level and the coach’s trust in Määtta. The JYP graduate has played with more ice time in the NHL in only one season, and it’s been seven years since then.
– Hronek, 25, is a year older and it seems that when a little more experienced guys have been brought in, his playing has calmed down. However, he is a player who has already played two and a half hundred games in the NHL. Play a great season, Lehkonen praises.
– Olli, on the other hand, is a typical Finn who wants to stay in the background. He has always recognized the needs that the team has and has worked tirelessly to fill his box. Olli has always done everything to win. At the age of 28, he is certainly in his prime and played really well this fall.
Successful acquisitions
Lehkonen has greeted with joy the acquisitions made by the club in the summer. Although no superstars were caught, the club got quality and reliable veteran players in important positions, as well as an extremely hungry star of tomorrow who is on the verge of a breakthrough like Husson.
The club management has wanted to invest in reliability in its acquisitions, so that the young players in the lineup would grow up in the right kind of culture. For example by David Perron, Määtä and Husson came with four Stanley Cup rings. These players have seen a winning culture and what it takes to build one.
– Someone Andrew Copp is a good acquisition, he brings hard mid lane play there. Perron is a sharpshooting sniper who brings a constant threat to the ice. Ben Chiarot brings physicality, character and experience. Olli, on the other hand, is really stylish and a defender of both sides of the ice house, Lehkonen sees.
– Detroit has lacked such a sandpaper department and it was brought there a little bit now.
It seems that the new reinforcements and the new coaching have also made the older key players burn to their level. Especially the captain Dylan Larkin has started to look like the player expected at the time of the NHL draft (2014) after many more difficult years.
– You can sense from Larkin that he has woken up to the fact that now it has to start happening. Ever since the youth national teams, he has shown a completely different competitive spirit than, say, From Jack Eichel and now he has come into the season with a brace on his neck. In the past, he also sank a little into that rock star hockey. It’s really nice to watch this new arrival, Lehkonen enthuses.
Gameplay
Although the results have been good, Detroit has not been particularly dominant in its matches. It’s actually taken a lot in matches. At 5-for-5, Detroit’s goal-to-go ratio is less than 44 percent, which is the fifth-lowest rating in the entire league. The ranking in terms of dangerous goal posts is in the same direction.
On the other hand, the core team defends well and has scored 0.96 hits per hour played from the first sector, which is the third least among all teams.
– They attack nicely and the antennas are very high there if the game turns in their favor. From there we will also be strong on our own if that happens. There, the coach has also realized that you can’t shackle the young people too much, they have to let go and linger a little. Small mistakes have to be tolerated and then corrected through videos, says Lehkonen.
Especially the puck game is still in the process under the new coaching. Detroit has played a lot of end and transfer pucks and then started to take possession of the puck. The group has created a lot of scoring chances from exploits in the offensive zone and turnovers in the middle zone, not so much through high-quality puck control.
– There are guys with skating power in that group, and in a small rink, the most important rule is that you get the best scoring positions by playing defense in the offensive zone and the second best after a direct attack by the opponent. When you defend a direct attack well with your feet, the game turns nicely in the other direction at full speed.
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