Notes: Red Wings must improve in puck possession

DETROIT - On Friday, the Red Wings stayed off the practice ice and held an off-ice workout instead, but Thursday's 3-2 opening night overtime loss to Columbus at Little Caesars Arena was still fresh in their minds.
Detroit was plagued by penalties, which caused the Wings to chase the puck most of the night, putting them in a defensive posture for long stretches of the game.

They were also dreadful on face-offs, winning only 34 draws (43%) to the Blue Jackets 45 (57%).
If the Red Wings want to increase their offensive production from last season, they must stay out of the box, be much better in the dot and shoot more when they have the opportunity.
"We didn't generate much, which is unfortunate, especially (since) our depth is up front. We are good, we just couldn't get anything going," Thomas Vanek said. "We struggled on face-offs, which is a big part because you're not starting with the puck and then all the sudden you're chasing it. You don't get those puck touches to get in the game.
"Those are things you can address pretty simple. Just breaking out the puck is nothing too major that we can't look at and correct and get better at."

Vanek thought Jimmy Howard's play in net was Detroit's only bright spot, allowing the Red Wings to at least salvage a point, but the Wings need to generate more scoring chances by shooting the puck more, which is not as easy as it seems.
"You got to have the puck. The game, watching from stands or up top is always a lot easier," Vanek said. "You get the puck and it looks like you're wide open, but when you're at ice level all the sudden you see the net is far away and there's a stick here and a stick there, so sometimes you do overthink and try to make something that's not there.
"It is better just to throw it on net and create chaos, but for us the biggest thing is we were chasing the puck most of the game and not starting with the puck. You can nitpick and say you got to get more shots, but to get more shots you got to have the puck more and it starts with the face-off, with our forecheck, the way we break out.
"I don't think it's areas where it's major, it's a few simple system changes maybe, it's an aggressive team in Columbus, instead of trying to go D to D you go for the high flip and get it out in the neutral zone and see if you can back them off, but we weren't able to do that."
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill was disappointed his team didn't have the tenacity to sustain a consistent forecheck. All throughout training camp, he preached to win games, the Wings had to be a tough team to play against, to make the opponent's life miserable for a full 60 minutes.
"Not very many. I don't know what the percentage would be," was Blashill's response when asked about how many minutes the Red Wings were a hard team to play against on Thursday. "I just think when you're defending, it's hard to be hard to play against. When you're not on the attack, it's just hard to be hard to play against.
"I don't think that was a thing where it's a lack of effort or lack of commitment to doing that. We couldn't get out of our end. When you can't break the puck out of your end and you play D zone coverage, that's what you're doing.
"In the end, you are kind of surviving and that's what we did. We kind of survived over time. If we had got a goal there in overtime, you'd feel like you stole two points. In this case, you probably feel like you stole one."

For the Wings to turn things around on their quick West coast trip with back-to-back games Sunday against the Kings and Monday versus the Ducks, the Red Wings need to be relentless on the forecheck.
"When you can't forecheck, you just can't create as much. The scoring chances weren't probably as lopsided even strength as certainly the shots would indicate. I think we had the scoring chances at 11-9 even strength for them, which didn't surprise me," Blashill said. "They spent tons of time in our zone, they took tons of shots, they had lots of shots kind of in that area. Not lots of big-time chances, and we were able to create some, but you get zoned to death. You just end up playing so much in your zone, it makes it hard to do a whole bunch.
"It's mathematical, if you spend more time in your zone, they're going to generate more shots. If you spend time in their zone, you're going to generate more shots. But again, it comes down to a little bit what happens first. I guess if you establish a great forecheck, then it's easy to break out because they're changing… I don't know. We've worked on it, we're going to have to clean that up 100 percent."
A TIME TO BOND:With so many new faces on the Red Wings, perhaps it's a good thing Detroit is headed on the road to play back-to-back games against the Kings and Ducks.
Though it's an odd early season trip out west, Blashill does see the benefits the trip could have in helping his younger team bond.
"I would say, guys would tell you throughout the history of sports, when you get to go on the road together, especially in today's sports where everybody has their own room, it's just a different animal maybe than it was a number of years ago where you'd go to the bar after practice and hang out. You don't do that," Blashill said. "So, the fact you can get on the road a little bit and hang out, it can create a bond. I don't know that they're going to go to the bar. Seriously, getting on the road gives yourself a chance to have some bonding.
"The fact we have a whole bunch of new guys, I think it can only help to spend some time together. You got a long flight, you got time out to dinner, not at the bar. It should be good there on the beach, taking walks."
Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley is looking forward to getting on the road with his teammates; though bonding is an important element on road trips, the veteran blueliner also likes the Wings' destination.
"I've been on the West coast most of my career, so I'm kind of used to it," Daley said. "It's a chance for the boys to get out on the road and do some team bonding and get together. It's not a bad thing, we're out in California, it's not the worst place to be."

INJURY UPDATE: It appears the Wings defensive corps is slowly getting healthy according to Blashill.
"I would rule (Jonathan) Ericsson out for the weekend, unless some unforeseen recovery happens. He's going to travel. And I would say (Niklas) Kronwall would like to play both games. I expect him to be in one of the games."
If Kronwall is able to play, the Wings would have to choose which young defenseman to sit. With all four holding their own against Columbus, the most likely candidates could be Joe Hicketts or perhaps Filip Hronek, but in this current transition of the Red Wings, it's hard to predict.