Perhaps it IS time to switch the focus to development

[SpikeDDS]

In an earlier thread, somebody said that the Red Wings, with all of their injuries, should concede the season, no longer focus on making the playoffs and extending the streak, but instead focus on development of their young players. When Howard came back and played as strongly as he has been, I couldn't say that yet. If he plays well, there was hope. And I suppose if Mrazek can get cocky, there's still a possibility. However, with Jimmy leaving the game with a recurrence of that knee injury, I think it may actually be time to do that now.

Losing 4-1 to the Blues with the team we had wasn't really "embarrassing" as much as it was revealing. It showed how deficient we really are with all of our guys out. And it shows how much more growth these young players need. The Blues are a very good hockey team. They played their game to the letter, and scored several "routine" goals for them. No flash. No glitz. Just net presence and shooting it to score.

The only goal that either goalie had a chance at was the first one, the wraparound that hit Jimmy and went in off his leg before he could get back into position. On that goal, I didn't really think he needed to get that far out of position, and I think that is what cost him the goal, but otherwise he was quite sharp, and he didn't let that goal get him down. Mrazek also played well. This game could easily have been 6- or 7-1. All in all, I thought our goaltending was very good, despite the score. The Blues did an excellent job of getting in front of our net and screening. Pucks were in the net before Jimmy and Petr knew it.

Helm definitely had a positive impact in this game. He created some solid opportunities. Betcha he was tired after that game, because he got some ice time, and it seemed like he was all over it. Good to see. I hope he can stay healthy. I really like his game...when he can play. He was the biggest plus in this game to me.

Gus had a nice goal too. Nice to see another PP goal, but our special teams couldn't match up with the Blues'. They made us pay for sitting in the box.

Halal had a very good game in goal. We didn't have nearly the shots that the Blues had, but he made some very good saves on a few of our well-placed shots. Howie and Mrazek also had a few of those too, but Halak was sharp, and a 1 on the opposing scoreboard makes it look even better

But two things stood out: Blues scored 2 goals using screens and another one which bounced off the back of Sheahan's leg as he was battling a Blues player at the side of the net. Compare our net play to that and you can see how we are just not tooled for playoff hockey right now. Second, Babcock called it a lack of effort. Maybe he was right, but I saw a bigger, better hockey club use their strengths and advantages to their potential and control the game from start to finish. When the Blues play their game like they did, even if we play ours with the team we have, we are still going to lose. Babs can't think that way. He's so focused on winning. But the time might have come for him to concede the winning NOW part to work hard on development to be able to win later. Short of Mrazek playing lights-out, it may indeed be time.

[yave1964]

  The Jurco penalty changed the game. On the PP to start the second he drew a penalty, the Blues scored on the 4 on 4 and then again on the power play, making the game 3-1. Game. Set. Match. Sadly, that is what happens with young players in the lineup. You have to deal with the learning curve.

  Howard out again with a LBI. Wow . I have been critical of him this season but he has came on strong lately. I know Gus is almost back but this is getting ridiculous.

  Should the Wings fire their trainer and training staff? I cannot pinpoint the reason but my God we have more players out with hammy's and tweaks than at any time that I don't know if it is conditioning, age or what but our man games is astronomical for what we have missed.

  Helm back, Eriksson right behind him, Gus on his way. Still without Pavel, Mule and Alfie and now Andersson we are so unmanned it is unreal. I swear I about fell over when I looked up and saw Eaves on the power play.

  Not ready to write off the season yet. THIS is the transition season however, when veterans such as Bert, Sammy, Alfie,  Cleary, Eaves, and Quincey are all on their farewell tour.

  The way I see it Spike, young hungry kids like Sheahan, Jurco and Glendening are all cutting their teeth this year in small roles. Tatar and Nyquist are already established and are here to stay. Kids like Pulkinnen and Jarnkrok are just around the corner. And the cap is going up next season. What I would like to see:

  Continue to feather the kids in to fill in for an injury here or there.

  Plan on being big offseason players, especially for a puck moving d-man.

  I think next year looks much brighter than this but I am not ready yet to write this one off.

[WingNut722]

I couldn't watch this game becasue our TV was disconnected as had new windows installed and opted also to steam the carpets while the furniture was moved, so I had no TV last night...

 

No TV.......

 

AT ALL......!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Naturally I cant really comment on the game itself other than an appallingly small number of shots.  Did the Blues just play outstanding defense?  It's getting just a little ridiculous that so many guys are out for so long.  I don't know about you, but "undisclosed lower body injury" doesn't answer very many questions.For Instance, a couple weeks ago, Pavel Datsyuk sat out of of practice for what Mike Babcock likes to call a "maintenance day."  We haven't seen him since....  I'd be willing to bet Franzen is out for the rest of the season, so let's put him at the bottom of the list.

 

Now Howard's back out.....Where does it end??? 

 

Just frustrated I guess.  

[SpikeDDS]

  Should the Wings fire their trainer and training staff? I cannot pinpoint the reason but my God we have more players out with hammy's and tweaks than at any time that I don't know if it is conditioning, age or what but our man games is astronomical for what we have missed.

 

  Not ready to write off the season yet. THIS is the transition season however, when veterans such as Bert, Sammy, Alfie,  Cleary, Eaves, and Quincey are all on their farewell tour.

  The way I see it Spike, young hungry kids like Sheahan, Jurco and Glendening are all cutting their teeth this year in small roles. Tatar and Nyquist are already established and are here to stay. Kids like Pulkinnen and Jarnkrok are just around the corner. And the cap is going up next season. What I would like to see:

  Continue to feather the kids in to fill in for an injury here or there.

  Plan on being big offseason players, especially for a puck moving d-man.

  I think next year looks much brighter than this but I am not ready yet to write this one off.

What is interesting is that according to ManGamesLost.com, we aren't even close to Pittsburgh or Anaheim in man-games lost. As bad as we have been, apparently we are FAR from the worst. (They even look at it from both a time-on-ice perspective and a salary perspective, too.) I have a hard time believing it, but I don't have numbers to rebut theirs, so...hmm.

I'm not suggesting that we a TOTALLY GIVE UP on the season. That's crazy. But I DO think that our primary focus should probably shift to player development, and if by chance we can develop them well enough and fast enough, it just might be enough to get us in. However, if things continue as they are, those chances are slim. Take it if you can get it, but don't sweat it if we miss, and don't make winning for the "now" the most important thing. Building a winning team for the future--whether it means the team we have at the end of this season or next year's team--should be top priority. This will mean that Babcock's objectives will need to change a bit. He's all about winning, but sometimes the best play is to fold and try to get better cards.

This means that when our big guys come back, it should be Sammy and Cleary and perhaps even Bert sitting and these young guys playing. (Although I think Bert does provide some net presence, so he's probably the last of the three to sit.)

[SpikeDDS]

I couldn't watch this game becasue our TV was disconnected as had new windows installed and opted also to steam the carpets while the furniture was moved, so I had no TV last night...

 

No TV.......

 

AT ALL......!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Naturally I cant really comment on the game itself other than an appallingly small number of shots.  Did the Blues just play outstanding defense?

Your TV saved you some frustration. What I saw was a better hockey team playing better hockey in almost every aspect of the game: shots, net front presence, puck battles, goaltending (although I didn't think we were too bad, just not as good), puck possession, giveaways/takeaways, hits, penalties, special teams, and faceoffs. I don't even think it was that we played terrible. Well didn't play GREAT, but we would have HAD to play GREAT to skate with this team last night, and we aren't doing that consistently at all. To me, it seemed less about how bad we played and more about how deficient we are as compared with real Cup-competitive teams. If teams like the Blues play their game, we are usually going to lose unless we play our BEST game, and we did not.

Babs said something in his post-game comments that I thought was interesting. He said, "It's hard to tell you how much of it was them (the Blues playing well) and how much was us (playing poorly). He seemed to say that he thought it was more us playing poorly, but I think the way he thinks about stressing the positive all the time, that's what he HAS to say. If he admits we are simply deficient, it means they are admitting that they don't really control whether they win or not as much as the opponent does, and that if the other team plays well, we are probably going to lose. He's not gonna say that. But I think it may be the God's-honest truth, and if it is, the sooner we start acting like it, the better. You can't fix a problem until first you acknowledge that you have one. The time where that is needed may be near.

[WingNut722]

@SpikeDDS  We'll see if they can pick up the slack tonight against Chicago.  Seems interesting that Gustavsson is coincidentally ready to get in the net once it was confirmed that Jimmy Howard was out.  To me that seems like he's not 100% but the Babcock/Holland do not want to trust the team in the hands of Mrazek yet.

 

We will see..............

[SpikeDDS]

@WingNut722

I agree with your assessment. VEERY convenient timing! ;-)

Hope Monster doesn't hurt himself f we are right.

[WingNut722]

@SpikeDDS

In the event that he does tweak his groin again, (which is a distinct possibility for a goalie), Mrazek will be take his place.  But then that leaves us with Tom McCollum, which would be the likely call-up from Grand Rapids. He has very little NHL experience if any at all, and didn't perform very well in training camp.  

 

This is a difficult stretch.   

 

Frustratingly enough, Datsyuk, Alfredsson, and Franzen are still listed as "out indefinitely"

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

In the event that he does tweak his groin again, (which is a distinct possibility for a goalie), Mrazek will be take his place.  But then that leaves us with Tom McCollum, which would be the likely call-up from Grand Rapids. He has very little NHL experience if any at all, and didn't perform very well in training camp.  

 

This is a difficult stretch.   

 

Frustratingly enough, Datsyuk, Alfredsson, and Franzen are still listed as "out indefinitely"

  A puck moving d-man who I have been hoping would come under the radar of Holland, Del Zotto was given away by the Rangers today to the Predators. Would have been a perfect fit for our corp. I hope the reason Holland did not get in the bidding was because he is burning up the phones trying to get a forward or two......