DETROIT -- The Red Wings have to find the fine line between scoring enough and playing solid defense.
In their current streak, the Wings have shored up their defensive play, allowing just nine goals in their last five games.
However, they've only scored five goals in those games, including a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders Friday night at Joe Louis Arena, going 0-2-3.
"That's a positive, I guess, but at the same time, we've got to get back to scoring more goals," said Gustav Nyquist, who leads the team in goals with 14. "One and two goals isn't enough. Looking back, it's so nice when you score goals, but then our D side wasn't as good as it is now. Now we're not giving up much, but we're not scoring enough either.
"It's a funny mix there, but we've got to figure out a way to score more goals."
In their previous five games, the Wings allowed 12 goals but scored 19, going 4-1.
In the five games before that, the Wings allowed 16 goals but scored 19, also going 4-1.
So it appears that maybe the Wings could give up just a little more defensively but score much more.
Certainly it would help to get more than the 18 shots they got Friday night.
"We didn't do enough to create things," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "We didn't throw enough pucks in there. We've had that problem now for two games. We got to get back to doing what we did before. Throw more pucks in there, play a little more desperate and get back to our winning ways."
Although the Islanders deserve credit for their defense, the Wings feel they can do more.
"You gotta find ways to get the puck there," said Henrik Zetterberg, who had the Wings' only goal. "It's not always from the blue line or the D, maybe have to go back board and find other ways to get the puck there. Once we did it, I think we had a lot of second chances. I think we can be even better to be there on the second efforts."
You look at the top teams in each conference, they have close to 100 goals or more.
The Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins have 99 goals. The Islanders, in second, have 101 goals. Tampa Bay, in third, has 112.
In the Western Conference, the Anaheim Ducks, in first, have 101 goals. The Chicago Blackhawks, in second, have 100. Even the third-place St. Louis Blues have 98.
After Friday, the Wings have 93.
So they're not too far away. They were scoring a lot before so they've proven they can do so.
"I thought we played all right," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We had humdinger chances, right in the slot. We had some good looks, but we have to hit the net. I didn't mind (Friday night's) game. I thought our effort was good. I would have like to have seen us execute on a few plays a little better."
The other reason to err on the side of offense at this point is the Wings are getting very good goaltending.
Friday night Jimmy Howard had to leave the game because of a lower-body injury, but he has been solid, especially Tuesday night against Columbus.
Petr Mrazek, who replaced Howard for the final two periods, was at times spectacular, especially facing the Islander's power play right after coming into the game.
"They had a power play and it was my first minute on the ice, so I just tried to be focused and get into the game," Mrazek said. "So I was happy that some pucks hit me in the first five minutes."
Mrazek had 22 saves in two periods against the Islanders despite taking the loss.
"I thought Mrazek was fantastic coming off the bench," Babcock said.
So let the goaltender work, shoot a lot and see what happens.
