This season has been one to forget for the Detroit Red Wings. Their play has been filled with inconsistencies, and lackluster play for most of the season. However, there have been a few bright spots for the Wings looking forward.
The play of rookies, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou has shown general manager Ken Holland that he has valuable assets that he can build around in the future. This has shown with the play that both have exhibited this season, and it has been paying off for the Red Wings.
The combination of Athanasiou and Thomas Vanek has proven to be astonishing for the growth of Athanasiou as an offensive threat. Likewise, the top offensive line combination of Mantha and Henrik Zetterberg has been a delightful surprise for the Red Wings.
Mantha and Zetterberg have formed a chemistry that has been hard to stop for opposition defensive units. For a majority of the year, Mantha and Zetterberg have been paired with Gustav Nyquist to for a solid top offensive line, but there is another player who is poised to take over Nyquist’s spot on that top line.
Nyquist was suspended for five games on February 15th as a result of a high stick to the face of Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon. Since then, head coach Jeff Blashill has promoted Tomas Tatar to the top line, and the results thus far have been remarkable.
In the two games before Nyquist’s suspension, the combination of Zetterberg, Nyquist, and Mantha had produced two goals and three assists in two losses against the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets. They lost those two games by a combined score of 8-4.
The first game after the suspension to Nyquist the Wings fell to the St. Louis Blues 2-0, but have found their stride since then. In their two most recent games, the Wings have defeated two of the toughest teams in the NHL, the Washington Capitals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, by a combined score of 8-4.
In those two games, Tatar, Mantha, and Zetterberg have combined for two goals and six assists. The point differences between the two different line combinations might not be staggering, but the results of the games are.
Once the suspension to Nyquist is over, Blashill will have some tough decisions to make when it comes to his line combinations. If the line of Tatar, Zetterberg, and Mantha continues to produce points and wins, then I find it hard for Blashill to take Tatar off of the top line.
I believe that Blashill will have to find somewhere else to fit Nyquist into the lineup. Perhaps Nyquist can be fitted into the third line with Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin, and possibly help spark some offensive production.
