Game 2 Wings 3 Canes 2 (OT)

[yave1964]

Pulled one of out of our nether region tonight. A few observations.

We reacquired Kyle Quincey a few years ago for a first round pick. He has not been close to the player he was for a while there in Colorado before injuries derailed him. He got beat and beat bad for the first goal by Radek Drvorak who has to have an AARP card by now.

The second goal was scored by Nathan Gerbe on a power play. The only thing worse than Nathan Gerbe scoring against you on a power play is having to play him FOR your team while on the power play. I thought Carolina had better options than Gerbe.

Ward was lights out.35 saves, some of them acrobatic.

Zetterberg absolutely took over the third period and played like a man possessed, or more accurately like a captain.

Good to see Alfie and Weiss get their first points in a Wings uniform.

For whatever reason our defense seemed to be a little more on their heals tonight than they were against the Sabres in the opener.

Great team win, down 2-0 on the road in the Canes season opener is a tough game to come back in. It would have been easy to pack it in and just ready ourselves for the Bruins tomorrow night but Captain Z wouldn't allow it. The boys definitely look crisp to start the year.

[jammer2]

@yave1964  If Quincy keeps playing poorly, he will be press boxed real quick. That kinda stuff is frowned upon in Detroit. How is DeKeyser looking, who do they have him paired with. I plan on watching a lot more Wings games, just so I can see this kid play his rookie year (I think he still qualifies, not enough games played last year?). He is really something special.

 

 Would you agree with my assessment that is a huge year for Brendan Smith?  I won't go as far to say make or break...BUT he does turn 25 in February. At some point, the obvious vast potential has to translate into on ice performance. He has not been brutal, but at the same time, he has not done what I thought he would do. Maybe my expectations were a tad to high, but when you see a snarly mean streak from a kid who can skate like he does, well, that is a rare combo as you know. If everything goes like I think it will, then this time next year he will be a solid 3-4 kinda d-man.

 

 A few d-men prospects I've been watching are Ryan Sproul of the Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds.  He has some offensive upside and is one of the veteran leaders of that squad. Xavier Ouellete is another CHL guy who just might have some some offense in him at the pro level. My Uncle wants to go see the Greyhounds play next month, so I should be able to give a report on how he looked. Hockey Futures has him as a 7.0 ranking which is respectable, but I think he's better than that.

[yave1964]

@yave1964  If Quincy keeps playing poorly, he will be press boxed real quick. That kinda stuff is frowned upon in Detroit. How is DeKeyser looking, who do they have him paired with. I plan on watching a lot more Wings games, just so I can see this kid play his rookie year (I think he still qualifies, not enough games played last year?). He is really something special.

 

 Would you agree with my assessment that is a huge year for Brendan Smith?  I won't go as far to say make or break...BUT he does turn 25 in February. At some point, the obvious vast potential has to translate into on ice performance. He has not been brutal, but at the same time, he has not done what I thought he would do. Maybe my expectations were a tad to high, but when you see a snarly mean streak from a kid who can skate like he does, well, that is a rare combo as you know. If everything goes like I think it will, then this time next year he will be a solid 3-4 kinda d-man.

 

 A few d-men prospects I've been watching are Ryan Sproul of the Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds.  He has some offensive upside and is one of the veteran leaders of that squad. Xavier Ouellete is another CHL guy who just might have some some offense in him at the pro level. My Uncle wants to go see the Greyhounds play next month, so I should be able to give a report on how he looked. Hockey Futures has him as a 7.0 ranking which is respectable, but I think he's better than that.

Dekeyser is on the second pair with Kindl who is very responsible in his own zone and can move the puck. An absolute shut down pair who seem like a perfect match, great defense with a bit of offensive ability and solid potential.

Smith has been paired with Quincey for two years and has been okay, but not the player he was supposed to be. I have watched a good two dozen games of his in Grand Rapids on the internet, studying him, he was slow to develop, but now at the NHL level it is like his chippiness, his willingness to play the body and commit to the rough stuff has been burned out of him and taking a lot of his skill with him. He still looks tentative this year. It is early, two games in though.

Babcock said of all the kids in camp Sproul was the most impressive and seemed a lock to make the NHL. Oullete is a comer as well. We have this skinny Russian kid Marchenko in Grand Rapids as well as a kid who I love, Adam Almquist who can run the point, wicked, accurate shot, led Grand Rapids blue line as an AHL rookie last year. He gets turned around way to easily still but the offensive skill set is there right now. I am hoping that the first sign of injury we call him up instead of Lashoff.

Quincey drives me nuts. He was a decent prospect with the Wings and we let him go because we were just too loaded on the blue line and he was solid for the Avalanche for a few years before injuries took their toll. I was thrilled when we acquired him for a number one, now Quincey is easily our number six defensemen. And I am becoming more and more convinced that a lot of Smiths problems are being paired with him. I really do believe that he is being misused by Babs though, he can still move the puck but we are using him as a stay at home guy, never on the power play and first pair on the penalty kill, he seems better suited for a bit of an offensive role, but hey, Ericsson, Kronwall, Dekeyser, Smith and Kindl are underrated and solid if not specatular. If my biggest complaint is a sixth d-man who plays 13 minutes a night who really is not that bad in that role, I guess I should just count my blessings.

[TretiakCCCP20]

I love the way the Wings are playing this year. Hoping it continues!