Blashill’s personnel decisions cost Red Wings two crucial points

The Detroit Red Wings had their playoff berth on a silver platter Tuesday night.

Once again, they couldn’t grab it.

The New Jersey Devils had beaten the slumping Boston Bruins, and the Red Wings had a 3-2 third-period lead against the Montreal Canadiens with 15 minutes to play. If Detroit could hold on, they would move into third place in the Atlantic Division – a point ahead with five games left.

They would also be two points ahead of Philadelphia in the wild-card race, although the Flyers have two games in hand.

It wouldn’t be a guarantee, but it would be a strong platform to get to a 25th straight postseason.

It didn’t happen.

Jimmy Howard allowed two goals, and the Red Wings couldn’t add to a three-goal second period. The Canadiens, already eliminated from the postseason, picked up a meaningless 4-3 victory that keeps the Bruins and Flyers in the drivers’ seats for spring hockey.

Detroit still has a chance – Boston has only won three of their last 10 games – but rookie coach Jeff Blashill has to coach like a veteran in the last five games. Lately, he hasn’t been able to do that.

Blashill’s biggest problem right now is that he can’t decide on a goalie. Petr Mrazek carried the Red Wings from mid-December through mid-February, but has a save percentage under 0.900 for the last six weeks. Howard has been a little better, but Blashill has been unable to commit to either of them, ensuring that they can’t get into a rhythm.

Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill covers his mouth with his hands behind the bench, during a break in the first period of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Detroit Red Wings. (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire)

In Saturday’s embarrassing 7-2 loss to Pittsburgh, Blashill pulled Mrazek after allowing four second-period goals, saying he wanted to give the team a boost. Howard, though, gave up three more goals in the third as the Red Wings were routed on national television.

On Monday, Blashill started Howard against the Sabres, and it looked like a brilliant move when the Red Wings led 3-0 with three minutes to play. But he then allowed two goals in 61 seconds – one when he lost the puck so badly that he was looking to his left when it whistled inside his right post – forcing Detroit to kill off a frantic 1:49 with Buffalo’s net empty.

Howard hadn’t had a great night, but it was a much-needed win. Blashill, though, chose to go with Mrazek in Montreal. It wasn’t an easy choice, but if he believes that the Czech is his No. 1 goalie, it was understandable.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead midway through the first when Max Pacioretty made a great play to tip Paul Byron’s slapper over Mrazek’s shoulder. Three minutes later, on Montreal’s seventh shot of the game, Byron knocked in a rebound to make it 2-0.

Both goals were familiar to Red Wings fans – Detroit’s goalie screened by an opposing forward and one of his own defensemen, and nothing being done to clear the front of the crease. In a game where Montreal blocked 27 shots to Detroit’s seven, both early goals came when a Canadien was allowed to let fly without any difficulty.

Blashill, though, immediately pulled Mrazek for the second straight start – something he did to Howard in December. Should it be considered the catalyst for their offensive surge? Probably not, but Detroit did score three power-play goals in the second period to take the lead.

Howard and the Red Wings defense, though, couldn’t hold the lead, allowing two late goals to let the crucial win slip away. After the game, Blashill wouldn’t commit to either goalie for Friday’s home game against Minnesota. He needs to pick one – either one – and let them try to get enough playing time in the final five games to get into a groove.

He also needs to play his best defensemen, and that means Brendan Smith. According to Corsica Hockey, Smith leads Detroit’s blue liners in almost every advanced category, including Corsi For percentage, and goals for and against per 60 minutes.

Despite that, and his two-assist game last week against Montreal, Smith didn’t play Monday against Buffalo and he wasn’t in the lineup Tuesday at the Bell Centre. Instead, rookie Alexey Marchenko played both games, and Blashill stuck with struggling Jonathan Ericsson.

Blashill doesn’t even trust them – Ericsson only played 12:30 and Marchenko was on the ice for 16:10, while the other four defensemen all got at least 20 minutes of action – but Smith spent his second straight night in street clothes.

Smith isn’t Nicklas Lidstrom – he’s not going to carry the team into the postseason by himself. However, he’s a better option than Marchenko or Ericsson, and combined with one goalie getting steady playing time, he might be able to help push Detroit past Boston.

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