Of Dats and Cats

[yave1964]

Thoughts on last nights 3-2 shootout loss to the Panthers

 

Pavel is back, a goal and an assist with playing 20:15 and winning 14 of 21 faceoffs. He truly was a man among boys, too bad too many of the boys were on the Wings.

 

  Jimmy Howard after the game said, "You're up two goals on the road, you're in a good situation, and being up two after two, we would have taken that," Howard said. "But we've got to either find a way to score the next one or have the ability to shut them down."

 REALLY JIMMY?????? He needs to retire from the game and go to work for the fire department the way that he seems to want to be a member of the arson squad, the way he seems to love to throw gasoline on the fire. In his last 10 decisions Howard is now 1-4-5. Really.

 

   Nick Njugstad who I have been watching since his big ten college days was huge, stealing the puck from Datsyuk along the boards and using his big body to muscle his way out front and score a cool goal over Howards shoulder. The big guy seems to be developing nicely, as does Barkov who had an assist and a shootout goal, the two kids along with Huberdeau give hope to the future.

 

  In the first Dan Cleary was called for being in the crease on a goal by Ericsson that was waved off, replay showed the refs clearly blew the call, I flipped and wanted to hear the Panthers announcers view and they were laughing like the cat that ate the canary over the blown call. Absolutely wretched. Great job by Tim Thomas of selling it.

 

 The mule had two more assists. Whatever he is eating for breakfast they need to feed the entire team

  Kronwall missed by an inch of winning in overtime ringing one off the crossbar. He has been a bit snakebit lately cannot seem to buy a goal but keep shooting like that and they will come.

  Dylan Olsen was strong on the blue line for the Panthers, he came over from the Black Hawks in the Vesteeg deal, seems sound and looks like he has a clue. The Hawks have given up on Olsen and Ryan Stanton who has 11 points and 24 PIMs for the Canucks, defensemen are a premium, not sure what the Hawks were thinking I would take both any day of the week.

  Overall, not dissatisfied with the effort, just the outcome. A break here or there and this would have been a snooze fest in the first period. Instead we went up 2-0 after 2 periods and then slowly bled it away. Now on to Tampa where Babs has stated Gustafsson will be starting.

  One thing, I have not heard the reason for yet, we did not use Datsyuk in the shootout, going with Alfie, Tatar and Bert instead. Dats ended up passed by Brad Boyes who now sits alone as the all time leader in shootout goals with 35 (the two of them were tied) while Dats didn't have a chance in the extra frame. I don't know if he was tired or if Babs was playing a hunch but to me it made no sense to not give Datsyuk a shot in the shootout.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964 - Love the thread titles you come up with! 

 

Weiss had a honey of scoring chance in the middle of the third.  Probably the best scoring chance he's had during his drought.  A clean, beautiful shot, but Tim Thomas snagged it.  I'm pulling for the kid, really I am.  He's not getting down on himself at all.  And as long as he doesn't give up, the Wings shouldn't give up on him either.  41% in the faceoff circle, though, could be improved.  

 

The Red Wings went flat-footed after being up 2-0.  It's ridiculous how they always think they can do that.  

 

Was glad to see The Kids getting their much-deserved respect.  Nyquist and Tatar getting the nod for the shootout was a huge compliment from Babcock.  Instead of going with regulars, Datsyuk and Bertuzzi, or even Franzen, Babcock showed real class and faith, and solidified their place on this team.

 

Jimmy Howard didn't pay bad....he just can't win in shootouts.  Matter of fact he made several huge saves and kept decent control over his rebounds.

 

Abdelkader, again, is playing hard every minute of every shift.  He may not make the scoresheet, but he's out there, visible, making things happen.  I love watching him play.  

[flyercanuck]

Just thought I'd point out Wings prospect Andreas Athanasiou of our local Barrie Colts was selected as CHL player of the week with 2 goals and 5 assists in 2 games. If you haven't seen him play he can dangle and he can fly. And he's got size.39 points in 28 games. Heck of a 4th round pick IMO.

[WingNut722]

@flyercanuck  I don't know where the DRW scouting staff finds these gems without anyone else noticing, but they're out there.  There are any number of news stories on these high-caliber players for the Red Wings, selected in later rounds of the drafts.

[flyercanuck]

@WingNut722

 

Not sure why he'd fall to 4th. I saw him as a 2nd at worst. Looks like the whole package offensively.

[yave1964]

Scouting reports on Athanasiou that i read after the draft (to be honest i had never heard of him before)  he seems to be a late bloomer, hands and speed his strength, overall game defense, hockey smarts still growing, trying to catch up with the rest.

  The old saying, the one skill you cannot teach is speed may apply here, he has the speed, is only 19 will be in Grand Rapids or worst case Toledo next year and he is on the list of players i plan on following along with Anthony Mantha as they move to the pro game.

[flyercanuck]

@yave1964

 

He's been a fun guy to watch while he's been here. I actually thought he might have a chance to win the OHL scoring title...but Barrie got off to a horrible start. He's been racking them up over the last 20 or so games though. And he'll drop the mitts too.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7w5xDAPMQY

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpk-y77nWpw

[yave1964]

@flyercanuck

 

  That is awesome!! That is one thing i wish i lived in the frozen land of the north for, getting to watch the kids develop. I get to see big ten hockey, which is not the same but still fun (I watched Brendan Smith and nick Bjugstad faithfully) but you guys have it made with the Juniors....maybe that is why i am so jealous of them, lol.