Red Wings Desperately Need Penalty Kill Improvement

14 games into the season, the Detroit Red Wings penalty kill is in disastrous shape. The Red Wings have successfully killed just 65.0% of the penalties they've faced, going 26/40 thus far. That's 31st in the NHL (only better than the Edmonton Oilers) and comfortably worse than last season's worst NHL PK, the New York Islanders at 71.5%. The underlying numbers do not paint a more flattering picture. Per Natural Stat Trick, Detroit is a bottom five unit in the league by shot attempts-per-60, shots-per-60, goals against-per-60, and expected goals against-per-60.

Last season, coach Derek Lalonde noted that a team can overcome a slumping power play, but that it's incredibly difficult to overcome a struggling PK. On Monday, he spoke to his team's struggles in that phase of play: "There was two phases to it. One, when it was struggling early, there was some structure to it. We weren't good on routes, missed some assignments, and it ended in the back of our net. We had some opportunity to practice it, and I thought the structure was much better, and unfortunately the last three [goals against], two were broken plays, one was a shot from the point. I don't want to panic with it yet, kind of like our five-on-five play...but [we're] not executing...I think our structure has improved in it, but we need to stop the bleeding."

After yesterday's practice defenseman Ben Chiarot spoke to the importance of aggression to a successful PK, saying "On entries, on face-offs, don't let them get to their structure. Don't let them get to what they're trying to do. A team like the Rangers, such a dangerous power play, if you give them time and space, they'll find a way to get to the back of the net, so being aggressive at the right times is important."

In the featured video above, I discussed some of the Red Wings' short-handed woes and potential remedies.

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