SpikeDDS Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Ever had to recover from a gut punch that lasted a month and a half? Not the recovery. The punch. You're watching it happen in slow motion, knowing that fist is gonna make contact and you're gonna double over, but you can't stop it? Welcome to 2023-2024 Red Wing hockey. 3 games ago, the odds were that if we won out, our chances were 94% that we make the playoffs. Only one problem: There was a 6% chance that we wouldn't make them. And like our lottery luck, we got caught in the 6%. It hurts. The difference of 6% is the lesson. Washington had almost the same scenario...except if they won out, they had a 100% chance of making the playoffs. They controlled their own destiny. We let the opportunity to have that scenario be ours slip through our fingers, and we are learning what it is like to get stung by the 6%. You didn't want to see it coming, but you were watching it some nonetheless. It's regret. It wasn't like we were never there, and it wasn't like we didn't have the tools and talent necessary to get there. We did. Yes, Dylan Larkin proved to be THE difference-maker on this team, but if we are honest, we had enough talent around him where we should have been able to pull this off. But we didn't. Lucas Raymond grabbed the opportunity, but only too late. He has finally discovered that he has the ability to take a game over and win it by will. Dylan Larkin has modeled it for him, and he seems to have learned the lesson...only just too late. Could have used that in March. I am not upset with the Flyers for pulling their goalie. If I had been Torts, even if I knew we had been eliminated from the playoffs, I would have kept it to myself and pulled the goalie and let the team try to win in regulation anyway. It was a good test for his team; something to learn from, even though they weren't able to pull off a victory this time. I don't fault the Flyers. In fact, I think that anyone who does is overlooking the biggest reason why we didn't make it--a lack of sheer will. Great players and great teams win some games just by sheer will. What kills me is that in the last three games, we proved that we HAD the players who can will us to victory, and in the Pittsburgh game, to a point. We discovered that we CAN INDEED DO IT. We just...didn't until we had a 6% chance of missing despite our best efforts. We had to make ourselves TOO desperate before we decided to do it. Great teams learn to enforce their will so that that 6% becomes 0% and STAYS that way. We are close, but apparently we are not there yet. Or if we are, we discovered it too late. Another questionable regret: Should we have called up Simon Edvinsson sooner? Boy, it just seemed like defensively our matchups were so much better with him on the squad then without him. He made Petry better, which is one of the best qualities of an elite player. (Not saying he's elite yet, but he did do this, and it's a harbinger of things to come, I hope.) I respect the heck out of Steve Yzerman--I own his sweater, my most prized Red Wing thing I own--but I think this was a missed opportunity. If the Red Wings lean too far one way or the other, they wait too long to develop and bring up young talent. He was ready, and we could have used him. Alas, too late. I hope this informs us for later, because we have a lot more young talent to get NHL-ready. More than anything else, the losses to San Jose and to the Coyotes stand out to me, particularly the San Jose game. Again, this should have been one of those games where just by enforcing our sheer will, we should have won that game. But no, unfortunately, we didn't learn until April. And wow, was April exciting! Until it is cut short by reality. And I'm very hopeful for the future. This sting will hurt. For a while. As it should. What might have been. But isn't. Those thoughts will be difficult for the boys while they are eating cereal in the morning with no practice or games scheduled for later that day. Or for that week. Dead time to do nothing but think. And stew. I hope they don't wallow long. I hope it sparks a flame that doesn't go out. That next season, when the season starts turning the wrong way, they are able to look back to April and recognize the need to will themselves to turn it around. Not just for Dylan Larkin to do it. Not just Lucas Raymond. But the entire core. The team as a whole. This may be THE most important thing this team needs to take away from this season to prepare them for the next ones. But for now, it's quiet breakfasts, and gritted teeth. And bitter tastes in the mouths. And regret. Regret sucks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Don't worry man they gonna be better next season 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Brutal finish to a satisfying season. Lots went right. Lots went wrong. We lost because We played an ahl goalie and a washed up vrt in net Larkin got hurt, we lost seven in a row without him Yzerman did nothing to add at the deadline. Fabri and Copp did nothing down the stretch It was a solid season because Cat, Lark and Raymond were excellent Seider became the complete defenseman 200 blocks 200 hits and his second half was. Brilliant. Rasmussen, Sprong, compher all excellent role players Solid defense Hope for Resigning Kane Adding Edvinsson and Berggren as brilliant youth. Others in the Ahl are talented and ready. Hated missing the playoffs, but they were fun and worth watching which it has been a decade since I could say that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 3 hours ago, yave1964 said: Brutal finish to a satisfying season. Lots went right. Lots went wrong. We lost because We played an ahl goalie and a washed up vrt in net Larkin got hurt, we lost seven in a row without him Yzerman did nothing to add at the deadline. Fabri and Copp did nothing down the stretch It was a solid season because Cat, Lark and Raymond were excellent Seider became the complete defenseman 200 blocks 200 hits and his second half was. Brilliant. Rasmussen, Sprong, compher all excellent role players Solid defense Hope for Resigning Kane Adding Edvinsson and Berggren as brilliant youth. Others in the Ahl are talented and ready. Hated missing the playoffs, but they were fun and worth watching which it has been a decade since I could say that Yeah...I can understand though why Yserman didn't add was just playing it safe for the future of course and good for him for not panicking under pressure gotta stay the course... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Hated missing the playoffs, but they were fun and worth watching which it has been a decade since I could say that Yep. Significant games in April regular season with potential promise? Not for almost 10 years. Back then, it was "extend the streak," knowing we would bow out in most likely round 1 or possibly round 2, but still on the decline. The next year wouldn't be as good as that one, and we knew it. This is the first year where we had (and still have) real hope both for now and for the future, even if it didn't turn out exactly how we wanted. And an 11-point improvement year-over-year? That's a solid step. People calling for Lalonde's head are ignoring the improvement, or at least not giving it is full due. Yes, the veterans that Steve added made that possible, but it's very hard for me to see Lalonde getting the axe right now. It'll be interesting to see if Kane chooses to stay. I hope he does, he has proven he's still a significant asset. I'm just not sure Yzerman will want to give him the AAV and the term others might be willing to now that he has proven himself. We do need to make room for some of the young guys coming up. P.S. I think our earlier discussion of Hronek vs. Ghost--whether it was an upgrade or not--it definitely was on the offensive side, but overall, probably a wash...but add in the picks, and it was a great move by Yzerman. And without him, we wouldn't have had this exciting April that we've had. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 7 hours ago, yave1964 said: We lost because We played an ahl goalie and a washed up vrt in net I wouldn't put Lyon in AHL category. He's an NHL goalie, but he's never seen the workload he was given this season, and it showed. Like Lucas Raymond and others in their first full year, when you haven't played a full season schedule, and then you do, you get fatigued. I think that's what happened to him. He's certainly streaky. Both ways. Cossa will likely be down in GR for most of, if not all of, next season, but he'll be coming up, and I hope he's the netminder we are hoping he is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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