Looking at the D-men via the PK
Lilja and Sopel’s PK ability might give them the inside track on making the squad
The big battle at Red Wings training camp appears to be for the three spots that are up for grabs on the blueline. You can all but pencil Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Cheli into the top 5. I’ve made my case for why I think Brent Sopel has a solid chance to claim the #4 d-man spot and there’s even more support for this position when you look at the penalty kill. The penalty kill stats might give us some insight into how the sixth d-man spot is going to be filled.
| D-Man | PK Mins | SHGF | PPGA | GA every X Min |
| Sopel | 112 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
| Lilja | 146 | 2 | 11 | 13.3 |
| Rafalski | 110 | 1 | 9 | 12.2 |
| Cheli | 324 | 6 | 28 | 11.6 |
| Lidstrom | 351 | 8 | 32 | 11 |
| Kronner | 120 | 1 | 11 | 10.9 |
SHGF = Short Handed goals for [while on ice]
PPGA = Power Play goals allowed [while on ice]
GA every X Mins = How many mins averaged in PK time before allowing a goal
These stats are from last year’s regular season and are taken from the always indispensible Behind the Net. The first thing I want to point out is that the number of minutes played on the PK is an important guideline. If you go by the stats alone you could draw the mistaken conclusion that Andreas Lilja is Detroit’s best PK’er. He’s obviously better than many Red Wings fans give him credit for but he was scratched a fair amount last year and only played 146 minutes on the PK - less than half the amount of time Chelios and Lidstrom put in while short-handed.
However you can draw some conclusions based on the amount of time played. Your top two PK’ers will play 300+ minutes; your second pairing will play roughly 150 or so; and your third pairing will play about 110 minutes. Here are the two PK’ers Detroit will have to replace from last season.
| D-Man | PK Mins | SHGF | PPGA | GA every X Min |
| Markov | 190 | 4 | 20 | 9.5 |
| Schneider | 116 | 3 | 9 | 12.9 |
The thing that really jumps out is that Danny Markov played big minutes on the PK - almost 200 minutes. That is going to be the area where Detroit is going to have to figure out how to divide those minutes. Brian Rafalski’s PK stats are almost identical to Mathieu Schneiders so he can step in and fill those minutes adequately. If he can maintain his effectiveness while playing bigger minutes that will help to eat up some of Markov’s minutes.
In discussing goaltending prospect Jimmy Howard’s candidacy to eventually become Detroit’s #1 netminder, head coach Mike Babcock commented that the NHL is a league where one goal or a half a goal [in GAA] is the difference between winning and losing. That obviously means your goalie can’t let in soft goals. It also explains why Babcock doesn’t give players who are not responsible two-way players significant ice time. It can also be used to try and figure out which d-men are likely to make the squad.
Sopel is a decent offensive defenseman who can contribute on the PP and the PK. That makes him a solid candidate to fill out the #4 d-man spot alongside Kronwall. Andreas Lilja is a big player who is capable of being physical when necessary and was a solid PK’er last season. That leads me to believe he has a good shot at being the #6 defensemen in Detroit. If Derek Meech is going to make the squad it will likely be at Brett Lebda’s expense because he is able to contribute on the power play and the penalty kill.
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