from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,
There were specific areas coach Derek Lalonde wanted to see the Red Wings improve upon during his first season with the team....
After earning 74 points last season, the Wings went into the season finale with 80 points, so there was mild improvement, though many prominent betting sites put the Wings between 84-86 points before the season began.
But then, there are the special teams. They've been a particular source of frustration and disappointment the last several years, though there was progress made this season.
"Absolutely," Lalonde told reporters after Thursday's morning skate in Tampa. "Vastly improved, we're flirting with the top half on both, despite where our personnel was down the stretch."
The power play sat at 16th overall (21.3%) before Thursday's games, smack in the middle of the 32-team NHL. The penalty kill was 18th, at 78.5%.
Last season, the Wings finished 26th on the power play (16.3%) and last, 32nd, on the penalty kill (73.8%)....
"Bob Boughner (assistant coach who oversees the penalty kill) hasn't had a top-four group forward-wise all year long through injury or trades," Lalonde said....
After ranking 31st in goals-against average (3.78 goals per game) last season, the Wings sat 22nd Thursday, at 3.33 goals against per game. Improved, although a number that needs to get better to get into playoff contention.
"Team defense, underlying numbers (analytically) have improved, those are areas we wanted to improve on," Lalonde said. "We hit them all. It's still not good enough. We're not going to be in the playoffs. But we checked off some boxes.
"But it's just a step. There's still a way to go."
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