The Detroit Red Wings are facing a tall task on Saturday afternoon against one of the Eastern Conference's better teams in the Washington Capitals. Washington has been hot this season, with 110 goals scored and just 84 allowed, good for seventh and second in the league, respectively, as of Friday.
If the Wings want to beat them, they need to either perform better at 5-on-5, or draw more penalties. Lately, their 5-on-5 play has been horrendous, with Dave Hogg of NHL.com reminding us that "Detroit has scored five 5-on-5 goals in its past four games, with three coming in a 4-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec.