Preview: Power play takes focus heading into three-game stretch

Nick Leddy remembers playing against Alex Tanguay, which makes him feel older.
He's only 30, but with 11 years of NHL experience, Leddy is one of the more seasoned members of the Detroit Red Wings. He's recently been paired with Moritz Seider, a move from Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill that's meant to allow for the rookie to learn from Leddy. Tanguay, who retired from his playing career in 2016 and now works as an assistant coach for the Red Wings, being there can be just another reminder of Leddy's age.
There's an upside to this, too, though. Leddy gets to pick Tanguay's brain, and he's got some ideas. He's running the Red Wings power play this year after the offseason departure of Dan Bylsma, and Leddy could be one of the defensemen quarterbacking it.

"It's been great," Leddy said. "(Tanguay) communicates really well. He's put a lot on us, to, to communicate within each other. Try and find plays, or if we get a power play early in a game, see the PKs, tendencies and stuff, to talk about it. Kinda know what we were gonna do before we go out there."

We didn't see much of the Red Wings' power play during Wednesday's preseason opener, but on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres, there were five chances. And, during a three games in three days stretch that begins on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it will continue to be a focal point.
The Red Wings didn't score on the power play against Buffalo, but they did create chances with a consistency they sometimes lacked last season, when they converted just 11.41 percent of their chances on the man advantage.
"You're creating opportunities," Leddy said. "I think the ultimate goal, too, obviously is to score. But create momentum for your team and the team will respond to that as well."
Blashill said that during the preseason, it's hard to evaluate the power play unit as a whole - he looks more at individuals who are fighting for spots. Leddy, Seider and Filip Hronek are currently in contention to run power play units, though Blashill said the Red Wings could try Hronek on the flank as well.
"What you'd like for certain," Blashill said, "if you have the righty on the flank and the righty up top, someone that's running it on the other side, with a righty in the middle and then a lefty. And now you've got righty options, or (go) down and then he's got all righty options. And so that's what you'd love. And vice versa if you run it off the other unit."

The Red Wings haven't always had the luxury of right-handed players who can make that situation. For Bobby Ryan, a right-shot forward on a tryout contract, that creates more opportunity.
"It's good to have - ultimately, doesn't mean you can't be successful (in) other ways," Blashill said. "Power plays are successful with five lefties and you gotta find a way to be successful but it certainly helps to have more options with the right and left (shots)."
Blashill said that Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin have both been cleared, and could play during the upcoming stretch. Though the Red Wings are still splitting their roster in half for each game, that means things could be a little bit more representative against the Blue Jackets, and in Sunday's game at Pittsburgh and Monday's outing against the Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena.
"It's one thing to be a guy who can be on the power play, we need people who are gonna make our power play way better," Blashill said of the competition for spots. "And so guys gotta find ways to excel in those areas and excel when they're getting those opportunities."
On Thursday, the first power play line was made up of Leddy, Pius Suter, Robby Fabbri, Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina. The second group consisted of Seider, Lucas Raymond, Riley Barber, Chase Pearson and Sam Gagner. The night prior, against Chicago, Hronek was running the point with Ryan, Adam Erne, Michael Rasmussen and Taro Hirose on the first unit.

That is to say - the Red WIngs have some options. The competition is open, and as Leddy pointed out, it can be a thin line between a successful and unsuccessful power play.
"Maybe trying to do too much," Leddy said. "Instead of just simplifying it. I think a big part of it is getting pucks to the net. The more you do that, you can take advantage of the (penalty kill), kinda spread out or run around a little bit and then plays can happen and you can make your own plays."
Blashill is OK with having a competition. But he'd like people to emerge from it sooner rather than later. That's part of what makes the next three games important.
"Ultimately, we don't want 13 solid power play guys," he said. "We'd like five great ones."