Three Detroit Red Wings players who must step up their game

Following their disappointing California road trip that resulted in earning only one of a possible six points in the standings, the Red Wings return to home ice for a crucial matchup tonight against the New York Islanders.

The Red Wings are starved for offense in non-power play situations, and they'll look toward the usual suspects to make it happen.

Many fans will point to the worrying stat of Lucas Raymond's two goals in 18 games as a major issue, though the silver lining is that he has 15 assists for a near-point-per-game pace.

Dylan Larkin is scoring at a 50-goal pace, while defenseman Moritz Seider is on track for 41 assists, which would be his highest output since he doled out 43 helpers in his rookie year.

But for the Red Wings to break their slump, they badly need better performances from throughout their lineup, beginning with a key offseason acquisition.

Vladimir Tarasenko, only two years removed from scoring 34 goals with 48 assists with the St. Louis Blues, has scored only twice in 17 games.

He's earning $4.75 million this season and next, and it's not to be mostly absent from the scoresheet.

Forward J.T. Compher is playing his second season with the Red Wings; he scored a career-high 19 goals in 2023-24 but has only managed three goals this season, a pace of 14.

Compher's contract pays him an AAV of $5.1 million, and his output hasn't come close to justifying that salary.

Speaking of production not matching a player's salary, Michael Rasmussen has only three goals; one was into an empty net, while the other was an attempted pass that deflected off an opponent's skate and past the goaltender.

With an AAV of $3.2 million, Rasmussen has earned over $1 million per goal in 2024-25, hardly the kind of output for a player selected with the 9th overall pick (2017).