A Beautiful Problem

Lots of positives after two convincing wins by the Red Wings.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
A Beautiful Problem
Detroit Free Press

After speaking with reporters earlier about last season’s scoring woes, Detroit Red Wings’ head coach Jeff Blashill could potentially breathe a sigh of relief. In order to do so, he need not look any further than the score sheet of his team’s two preseason wins.

 

While exhibition games do not necessarily determine the outcome of the upcoming regular season schedule, there are positives to take out of how the Red Wings performed despite changes brought to the lineup.

 

Their 4-2 and 5-1 victories came thanks to unlikely heroes such as Steve Ott (1G, 2A), AHLer Mitch Callahan (2G), and Drew Miller (1G, 1A), fourth-line forwards who were never known to light up the lamp on a regular basis. Eight different players scored all 9 goals thus far, which is reason enough to give Blashill confidence in his group ahead of tomorrow night’s matchup against the Boston Bruins at the Joe Louis Arena.

 

Moreover, the head coach might have his hands full trying to figure out the goaltending situation for 2016-2017. With Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek slated to share the duties while Grand Rapids Griffins netminder Jared Coreau posted an impressive .963 save percentage in his two outings, perhaps general manager Ken Holland will need to offload one of the veteran goalies’ contracts in order to make room for Coreau. Either way, all three can prove to be capable starters under the right circumstances.