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The Detroit Red Wings are desperate to get cooking, so why not scramble and see if the team's top eggs can get cracking.
Vladimir Tarasenko has been a season-long underachiever, and with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond having cooled off since the Four Nations break, the Wings decided to give the three of them a look on the same line.
"If they play well, they’ll be the top line," coach Todd McLellan said after Thursday's morning skate.
In the first 16 games since the break ended on Feb. 22, Larkin had five goals and seven assists, Raymond had three goals and eight assists – and Tarasenko, two goals and five assists. Tarasenko's .44 point-per-game average in that span is on par with the .42 average he had going into the break, but Larkin's .75 average is well below the .91 he had before the break. And Raymond had dropped to .69 after clicking at a team-high 1.09.
More: Red Wings say 'belief is there,' but it's 'obviously not enough'
"Razor and Larks have not scored at the same pace as they’ve scored in the past, and Vladdy has been in that mix," McLellan said. "So we are throwing all three in together now. You look at their resumes and you look at what they’ve done and the way they can play, they should be a really good line. It’ll be a good challenge for the three of them to play together and find a way to be productive."
Elmer Söderblom had been playing left wing on the top line, but he's day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. There wasn't much of an update neither on him nor goaltender Petr Mrazek, who is still being evaluated after leaving Monday's game with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.
There are three weeks left in the regular season, and a recent six-game slide has left the Wings trying to climb back inside the playoff picture. They're not going to get there without scoring, and for Larkin and Raymond (both of whom participated in the Four Nations tournament, with Larkin playing four games and Raymond, three) to go through what by their standards are quiet stretches further amplifies the challenge.
"Everybody’s games kind of ebb and flow, and they’ve had some nights where they have been productive," McLellan said. "They’ve had nights where they’ve had great scoring opportunities and it hasn’t gone in, and then they’ve just had some dry nights. If it’s one of the first two nights, we have to live with that. If it’s a dry night where there’s not much going on, we have to find ways to get them to be catalysts.
"There’s pressure on both of them. They’re looked at as our offensive leaders and leaders overall. At this time of year that pressure can be immense, so they have to handle that as well. But expectations are high for the pair, and for them as individuals."
Larkin's and Raymond's relative struggles this stretch are in such contrast to last year, when both were above a point-per-game the last month of the season, and both a 1.20 per game the last 10 games of 2023-24.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Vladimir Tarasenko added to top line
Continue reading...
Vladimir Tarasenko has been a season-long underachiever, and with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond having cooled off since the Four Nations break, the Wings decided to give the three of them a look on the same line.
"If they play well, they’ll be the top line," coach Todd McLellan said after Thursday's morning skate.
In the first 16 games since the break ended on Feb. 22, Larkin had five goals and seven assists, Raymond had three goals and eight assists – and Tarasenko, two goals and five assists. Tarasenko's .44 point-per-game average in that span is on par with the .42 average he had going into the break, but Larkin's .75 average is well below the .91 he had before the break. And Raymond had dropped to .69 after clicking at a team-high 1.09.
More: Red Wings say 'belief is there,' but it's 'obviously not enough'
"Razor and Larks have not scored at the same pace as they’ve scored in the past, and Vladdy has been in that mix," McLellan said. "So we are throwing all three in together now. You look at their resumes and you look at what they’ve done and the way they can play, they should be a really good line. It’ll be a good challenge for the three of them to play together and find a way to be productive."
Elmer Söderblom had been playing left wing on the top line, but he's day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. There wasn't much of an update neither on him nor goaltender Petr Mrazek, who is still being evaluated after leaving Monday's game with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.
There are three weeks left in the regular season, and a recent six-game slide has left the Wings trying to climb back inside the playoff picture. They're not going to get there without scoring, and for Larkin and Raymond (both of whom participated in the Four Nations tournament, with Larkin playing four games and Raymond, three) to go through what by their standards are quiet stretches further amplifies the challenge.
"Everybody’s games kind of ebb and flow, and they’ve had some nights where they have been productive," McLellan said. "They’ve had nights where they’ve had great scoring opportunities and it hasn’t gone in, and then they’ve just had some dry nights. If it’s one of the first two nights, we have to live with that. If it’s a dry night where there’s not much going on, we have to find ways to get them to be catalysts.
"There’s pressure on both of them. They’re looked at as our offensive leaders and leaders overall. At this time of year that pressure can be immense, so they have to handle that as well. But expectations are high for the pair, and for them as individuals."
Larkin's and Raymond's relative struggles this stretch are in such contrast to last year, when both were above a point-per-game the last month of the season, and both a 1.20 per game the last 10 games of 2023-24.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Vladimir Tarasenko added to top line
Continue reading...
