Thunder tries to build defense with new faces

The Thunder’s defensemen have rarely been able to look to their left or to their right without a little mystery involved.

Wichita has been short-handed within that unit often this season, leading to some makeshift pairings and multiple personnel changes.

The optimal number for active defensemen is typically six, allowing for three permanent combinations. The Thunder has played with five at times and played two games with four after injuries to Theo Peckham and Dan Milan, and an equipment failure involving since-departed Ryan Ruikka earlier this month.

“It’s always tough not knowing who you’re playing with,” Thunder defenseman Brandon Martell said. “For the most part, we’ve had a couple that have been in there every night. …It’s tough when you’re playing with different guys every night.”

Martell is the only defenseman to play in all 17 Thunder games, and he has also been the best of the nine who have played. Peckham finishes his two-game suspension while his teammates meet Tulsa on Saturday, and many of Wichita’s other absences have been brief.

But even those create instability, which the Thunder addressed by acquiring Daniel Johnston and Eric Springer last week. Coach Kevin McClelland said another defenseman will be added soon, a necessity while Dalton Reum waits on 21-day injured reserve.

“We lost two on that Sunday, Peckham and Milan,” McClelland said. “We brought Ruikka in, brought him down to Allen, but the trainer forgot his skates so we had to play with four (defensemen) that night. People don’t know that stuff, but that’s got to get out there because it’s pretty funny.

“You think you’re bringing in a fresh guy in the middle of seven games in nine nights, but that fresh guy doesn’t get used. That was a bit of a tough situation.”

Like their night-to-night availability, the play of the Thunder’s defensemen has been inconsistent. Wichita doesn’t have a potent offense, so the defense has faced added responsibility and it often can’t make up for the scoring deficiencies.

Against Indy on Wednesday night, though, the offense and defense brought out the best in one another through inter-unit contributions. Martell scored the first goal of a 5-1 Wichita win and helped neutralize Indy’s scorers while Thunder forwards offered help in the defensive zone.

“This was big, this was a huge morale booster for us,” Martell said on Wednesday. “We’ve been busting our (butts), playing hard. Tonight, we switched up the D-zone a little bit. Guys were a little more on their game as far as coverage and their responsibilities, and it translated down to the offensive side.”

Johnston and Springer were key in those successes by following McClelland’s “keep it simple” philosophy. They didn’t take too many chances and capitalized on easier chances to be part of the offense.

The result was Wichita’s most complete, balanced game of the season and soon a rare abundance of defensemen once Peckham returns and the Thunder adds another piece.

“You don’t want to harness them,” McClelland said. “You want them to play confident out there, and if there’s opportunities to join the rush and help them out offensively, you want them to do that.

“We’re going to have some good (defense) here, and we’re going to have to make some decisions – someone is probably going to have to be traded.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Thunder tries to build defense with new faces."