Report: Scapegoat and Rookie Impress

The Detroit Red Wings currently sit in the fourth overall position of the National Hockey League. They are third in the Atlantic Division behind the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, as their red-hot start to the 2016-2017 regular season schedule has caused many fans to be pleasantly surprised. 

 

Goaltending has been exceptional through the team’s 5-2-0 record. Jimmy Howard won both of his starts and posted a .50 goals against average and .984 save percentage, while Petr Mrazek’s three wins and two losses and 2.82 GAA with a .917 SV% have given the team confidence in knowing they can depend on both their goaltenders to help them win games.

 

The offense is clicking, as the team is sixth overall with a 3.43 GPG average and 22.2% conversion rate on the power play, good for 11th in the league.

 

The best part about their five consecutive victories is that their defense has been a revelation of sorts. The team is sixth overall in goals against thanks especially to the hard and smart work of the defensive core, and fans’ whipping boy Jonathan Ericsson has impressed as has rookie Ryan Sproul.

 

Here’s a short clip of how intelligent they are during transition plays: