Red Wings Players Responding Well To Consistent Lines

Jeff Blashill’s tinkering with the lines was one of the most frustrating things to watch. He’d set lines during practice, then during the game, he’d tinker with them during play, moving the top line center to the third line and the third line winger to center the second line, and the fourth line grinder to the top line wing. Often, it didn’t make a lot of sense and the players were not responding well to finding themselves with new line mates every shift.

Last week, Blashill finally told the Detroit Free Press that he wouldn’t be tinkering with the lines anymore and that what was out at practice that day would be the final lines for a while. Here’s what the lines were that day:

Nyquist – Zetterberg – Tatar

Mantha – Larkin – Athanasiou

Helm – Nielsen – Abdelkader

Frk – Glendening – Wilson

The decision was prompted by the Red Wings 3-1 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning the night before. It was their sixth straight loss and both coach and players were feeling the pressure.

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It’s been two games since Blashill made that statement and, to his credit, he’s stuck by it so far. Other than some in-game adjustments that had to be made to accommodate special teams play, Blashill has left the lines as they are and let the players play.

And the players seem to love it. First, Anthony Mantha explained in an interview how him and Larkin were talking about their new line and saying they hoped it could last the rest of the season, maybe even the rest of their careers. These kids seem to be really great friends off the ice and are connecting well on the ice.

Then, Darren Helm gave a candid interview with Helene St. James about the line that he was playing on with Frans Nielsen and Justin Abdelkader. Helm thinks they can be a smart line and contribute at both ends of the ice, but he really emphasized their ability to build chemistry now that the lines had settled. “It gives guys a chance to to grow that chemistry,” Helm told St. James on the topic of the lines. “I’ve had success playing with both guys in the past and I hope we can all three of us find a way to play well together.”

Everyone is, in fact, playing well together. Since Blashill announced he would stop tinkering with the lines, the Wings have gone 2-0-0 with a +2 5v5 goal differential and an even 5v5 shot differential. In the eleven games prior to this, they had a -4 5v5 goal differential and a -18 5v5 shot differential. It’s a small sample size to say for sure that these lines are working, but with a 51.76% 5v5 CF% over the last two games (it was 49.94% going into Florida), the signs are positive.

If the team could limit the amount of penalties they are taking (they are currently top-5 in the league in penalties), these lines could really go to work on doing some damage to their opponents.