DETROIT – No Detroit Red Wing can say he has exceeded or even met his own offensive expectations or what the team thought it would get from them through 21 games.
That is why the Red Wings (5-13-3) are last in the NHL in goals per game (1.86) and a major reason why they are tied for last in points percentage (.310).
Dylan Larkin leads forwards and the team with 11 points. Filip Hronek leads defensemen with nine points.
They are among the players with the highest potential for more production.
Larkin has gone 11 games without a goal (three assists) and has scored only four goals this season. One of his usual linemates, Tyler Bertuzzi, has been out 12 games and counting with an upper-body injury. Another, Anthony Mantha, is experiencing similar struggles with five goals and nine points.
Coach Jeff Blashill has tried various combinations with Larkin, using Bobby Ryan, Filip Zadina and even grinder Darren Helm. He had Frans Nielsen skating with Larkin and Mantha in Wednesday’s practice but declined to reveal if he will go with that line Thursday against Nashville at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).
Blashill said it is at least a good sign that Larkin is averaging about as many shots (3.24 per game) as last season. His shooting percentage, however, is at a career-low 5.9 percent.
“Like our team, he’s ebbed and flowed, certainly has not had the production that we want him to have or that he wants to have, but I think if he keeps getting shots, in time it will even out closer to what that shooting percentage evens out,” Blashill said.
Larkin is trying to become a better two-way player and Blashill said he has shown progress in that respect.
“For Dylan to be the type of player he wants to be, which is considered a high-end player in this league, he’s got to be a great defender,” Blashill said. “He’s going to defend different than some other guys that are considered (great) in the league, He’s going to be a little bit different than a guy like (Boston’s Patrice) Bergeron, but he can do it with his tenacity and his legs, as long as he makes sure he stays on the D-side of people at all times. If he does that, he’s really hard to play against because nobody can outskate him and he’s real strong on the puck.”
Hronek has no goals, after scoring nine in 2019-20 during his first full NHL season. But Blashill is not concerned.
“I think he’s been every bit as good as last year,” Blashill said. “He’s been asked to continue to bite off lots of minutes, hard minutes against the other team’s best lots of times and that’s a hard balance. The other team’s best lots of times starts in our D-zone. When Fil starts in the D-zone, sometimes the offense is hard to come by.
“The other area where everybody gets points is the power play. He’s been a piece of it, and it hasn’t been good enough at all, so all those guys don’t have as many points as they’d like.”
Blashill said Hronek’s competitiveness has not waned.
“That doesn’t mean you run around cross-checking guys, it means you’re winning all those little battles,” Blashill said. “He wins tons of stick battles, finds ways to get stick on puck. He’s got to keep cleaning up mistakes. He’s a pretty good all-around defenseman when he’s on his game. He’s got poise with the puck and doing a good job moving the puck.”
No time frame for Bertuzzi
Bertuzzi has been out since Jan. 30 with an undisclosed upper-body injury that has prevented him from practicing with the team and caused discomfort whenever he has tried to skate on his own.
Blashill said it is unclear when he might heal.
“There were moments where I thought it was building closer to him coming back and right now, it’s not in the near future,” Blashill said. “Until we get him back skating with us, it’s hard to give a timeline. Once he gets back skating with us, he’s still a little ways away.”
More: Lack of offense costing Red Wings points
The Link LonkFebruary 25, 2021 at 05:53AM
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2021/02/dylan-larkin-filip-hronek-among-many-red-wings-needing-production-boost.html
Dylan Larkin, Filip Hronek among many Red Wings needing production boost - MLive.com
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