Through the first five games of the 2024-25 regular season, the Detroit Red Wings are sitting at a 2-3-0 record. A few things have stuck out in the first handful of games this season, some good and some bad. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Defense Has Been a Roller Coaster
General manager (GM) Steve Yzerman made a point this offseason by mentioning that he wanted to improve his team’s defense. While he may have said he wanted to, so far, things have not been much better than last season at times. After seeing Shayne Gostisbehere leave via free agency, Yzerman brought in Erik Gustafsson, and he has not necessarily looked the greatest and earned a healthy scratch already this season. But it has not stopped there, with the six defensemen dressed for the Red Wings being a bit of musical chairs outside of Simon Edvinsson, Ben Chiarot, and Moritz Seider.
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One positive outcome of the defensemen shuffling early on is that Justin Holl has taken advantage of his opportunity to get on the ice and has looked rather solid for the team. His pairing of himself and Edvinsson has been on par with the top pairing of Seider and Chiarot. This has been a welcomed sign after seeing Holl spend most of the season as a scratch after being signed by the Red Wings as a free agent last offseason. The lone newcomer from within the organization on the back end of the ice, Albert Johansson, has only dressed for two games so far but is like Holl in the sense that he has looked solid in the limited time he has been on the ice. He should be earning himself more ice time as the season progresses, as he is no longer waiver-exempt if he continues to be a scratch at the NHL level.
As a group, though, the team’s defense has been lackluster again this season, giving up the sixth-most shots on net with 34.2. This will need to be cleaned up, along with figuring out the six players who will be constants in the lineup if the team truly hopes to solidify or improve its defensive play. There have been times when the defense has looked strong, but overall, it has been a bit of a roller coaster to start the season again.
Goalies Getting Plenty of Work
Sticking with the shots theme, that brings us to the goaltenders. The three netminders between Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and offseason acquisition Cam Talbot have been busy this season. The addition of Talbot and the struggles Husso has had made for uncertainty for the goaltender position heading into the season. Husso did not fare well and has now been sent down to Grand Rapids. Still, both Lyon and Talbot have looked solid when given some help in front of them. Talbot began his time with the Red Wings with a 42-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 12, while Lyon has continued his strong play from last season. Even with a 2-3-0 record, the goaltending has looked solid for the most part.
Things could get dicey because they are getting so much traffic and work, and things are bound to go sideways sooner or later. The team in front of the goaltenders will need to start stepping up, both offensively and defensively, to occasionally give their “last line of defense” a break. In the first five games, the Red Wings have been outshot in four of those games.
Kasper Deserves to Stay
Yes, it has only been one game, but Marco Kasper deserves to stay in the Red Wings lineup. After being called up under emergency conditions before the team’s matchup with the Predators on Oct. 18, the youngster filled in on a line with Jonatan Berggren and Vladimir Tarasenko and was an all-around standout for the team in their 5-2 victory. Not only did he chip in offensively, earning his first NHL point on Tarasenko’s goal, but he also brought some needed energy to the lineup. He has shown his willingness to get involved physically in Grand Rapids and did just that in his first game this season, finishing second on the team in hits with three against the Predators.
After being a player many thought should have made the NHL roster out of camp this season, Kasper should become a mainstay in the lineup going forward, and with the bottom six not necessarily lighting the world on fire, that adds even more reason for him to earn himself a permanent spot. With the energy he can bring and his chemistry with Berggren, it could end up helping bring some offense to the bottom half of the Red Wings lineup.
Reason for Optimism
There have certainly been some ugly aspects of the Red Wings play through the first five games of the season, but it is still very early, and there is plenty of time to get things sorted out. On the flip side of the coin, there have been glimpses of some very good things that have happened and glimpses of hope from some of the team’s players for fans to keep an eye on going forward.
