Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Detroit's Defense Is A Problem

11/19/2021 at 1:30pm EST

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

“Statistically we’re one of the worst defensive teams in the league and we have to become a better defensive team,” Jeff Blashill said. “When you give up that many goals you’re just never going to be able to overcome that.

“We gotta get our structure back, we gotta get our habits back, specifically in D-zone coverage and track, sorting back into our end.”

Last season, while they were clearly suffering from a lack of scoring punch, as the season was progressing, the Wings were carving out an identity as a team that wasn’t giving up a ton. This season, with player personnel upgrades in goal, along the blueline and up front, the thinking was that the team would continue to take forward strides in this area of the game.

Instead, they’re getting further away from the objective of becoming a responsible defensive team.

Ongoing issues aren’t being cured. The Red Wings are still struggling mightily to make smooth clearances from their own end. They continue to allow free passage to opposing players through the neutral zone. Understanding defensive zone coverages seems to puzzle some of them.

more

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry The Downward Spiral Continues For The Wings - 34 minutes ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 7 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 7 hours ago
Comment by Steeb in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 8 hours ago
Comment by calquake in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 8 hours ago