Detroit Red Wings added Alex DeBrincat to push into playoffs. Now's the time to step up
With as big of a game as they've played this season next up for the Detroit Red Wings, they could use more from Alex DeBrincat.
The former 40-goal scorer has been stuck on 24 since March 26, which is his only goal dating to the start of March. For a guy who averages nearly 18 minutes per game in a top-six role and is a regular on the power play, seven points in the last 17 games isn't enough given what's at stake.
The Wings (38-31-8) next play Tuesday against the Washington Capitals, whose 83 points are just one behind Detroit and who hold the first tiebreaker with 28 regulation wins to Detroit's 27.
A big game from DeBrincat would be most welcome.
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"We need more looks," coach Derek Lalonde said Monday. "He's got to keep getting those looks, and I do think they'll go in. For the most part, he has."
The Wings held an optional practice (DeBrincat was among those who did not skate) heading into a stretch of playing five games in eight days. After Tuesday, they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on April 15 and ending the regular season in Montreal on April 16.
Forward Michael Rasmussen will miss a third straight game because of an upper-body injury. Goaltender Ville Husso, who has battled a lower-body injury since mid-December, has mended enough to be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins for a conditioning stint.
With the Wings coming off a victory on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres, the plan is to use the same lineup, though Lalonde said he might tinker with the lines. Dylan Larkin's line with Lucas Raymond and David Perron has such good chemistry it makes little sense to alter it, but Lalonde and his staff might take a look at the second line, which Sunday had minor-leaguer Austin Czarnik centering DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. J.T. Compher is usually the center on the second line, but Lalonde switched Compher to a checking line with Andrew Copp and Christian Fischer.
DeBrincat recorded his second 40-goal season in 2021-22, and it was his status as a prolific scorer that appealed in bringing him to Detroit. The 26-year-old from Farmington Hills joined the Wings last summer via a trade with the Ottawa Senators and was then signed for four years, $31.5 million, a $7.875 million annual average value second on the team only to Larkin's $8.7 million.
Through the first three-quarters of the season, DeBrincat was the team's second-leading scorer with 53 points in 60 games (Larkin had 54 points), but as the games have intensified with a playoff spot on the line, DeBrincat's been hard-pressed to score, with his shots ending up either saved, blocked, or hitting posts.
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"You can tell there's probably some frustration in his game," Lalonde said. "But, we're in a tight hockey game (Sunday), and shortened the bench a little bit. He's one of the guys that was part of the shortened bench, and he made two or three big-time wall plays in our zone. That's what's exciting now.
"I think his team game is there, and he's willing. Of course, a guy like that wants to score, but, just keep getting looks."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
Next up: Capitals
Matchup: Red Wings (38-31-8) vs. Washington (36-30-11).
Faceoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: ESPN; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings need more from Alex DeBrincat in playoff chase
