So the Bear's Awake.

[SpikeDDS]

Game 2. Completely dominated by the Bruins. Statement game. This was the game we would expect of the Bruins.

So far my predictions have almost been perfect. Brendan Smith and Kyle Quincey are our X-factor. They did not have good games. They got sucked in by the taunting if the Bruins and Boston made us pay. Now it's up to RW leadership to calm Smith down and get the team back to their structured game. We lost composure a bit today. It's OK. It was bound to happen in this series.

I predicted Game 3 would be pivotal, and it will. The RW must anticipate that Boston will be wanting to crush us literally and figuratively. We better be ready.

[Old School Hockey]

Howard played like crap to start the game! 3 out 4 were on him.

[SpikeDDS]

Howard played like crap to start the game! 3 out 4 were on him.

 

Yeah, but honestly that game could EASILY have been 6 or 7-1 without him. The first one was unbelievable. It was NOT Brendan Smith's fault, so you'vwe gotta give that to Howard. He screwed up, and it validated the tone that Boston was setting. They were pressuring us, and we cracked first.

 

I dunno if I blame Howard as much as I blame team defense either. Lucic was all alone far side. Brendan Smith lost him on that goal. Do you blame Howard for that? If a defenseman is where they are supposed to be, that puck that dribbled through his pads gets tucked back in by the D. Boston was there and no one could even lift his stick.

 

Howard made mistakes though. OTOH, he made some freaking outstanding saves! You can't ignore the good ones in evaluating his performance. Was he as good as Game 1? Nope. Not close. But he wasn't challenged in Game 1 like he was in Game 2 either. He would have had to stand on his head for us to even be in this game. He didn't.

 

If the Red Wings are gonna play like we are expecting Howie to have to stand on his head in order to win, we are done! We've gotta play better, and stay clean. We can't afford to be in the box. Boston can, unfortunately. Our PP is lacking. Badly.

Edited April 21, 2014 by SpikeDDS

[yave1964]

Alfredsson has to be a factor as does Franzen. The kid line is one thing, Datsyuk is a great story but we need our other vets to step up.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

I think Boston is keying on Detroit's young defensemen. They are really trying to mess with Brendan Smith and Danny DeKeyser, in particular. They see (correctly) that if they can neutralize those two players, it totally opens up the front of the net for their game to flourish.

 

If we play our team defense game structurally--with the whole team doing their jobs--we'll be fine. ONE of our lines will likely be able to break through and score if not more. But it won't matter if we score two or three if Boston is able to score 4 and have tons of chances to score more like they did in Game 2.

 

I wouldn't have said that I was worried about DeKeyser before this series. I'm not yet saying it. He didn't have his best game yesterday. He needs to respond with a good game tomorrow. If not, I officially become worried about him in this playoff year. And Boston is gonna test him. They got in their heads last game. They will think they can do it again. Our vets have to help them deal with what's coming.

 

I thought Franzen had a pretty good game in Game 1. Made some good passes for good opportunities. Most of his scoring chances weren't good ones though. It would be fantastic to see Alfie score, or at least someone on the Helm line. They NEED to be a factor, you're right, even if it's not on the score sheet. They were not in Game 2 much.

[Old School Hockey]

Yeah, but honestly that game could EASILY have been 6 or 7-1 without him. The first one was unbelievable. It was NOT Brendan Smith's fault, so you'vwe gotta give that to Howard. He screwed up, and it validated the tone that Boston was setting. They were pressuring us, and we cracked first.

 

I dunno if I blame Howard as much as I blame team defense either. Lucic was all alone far side. Brendan Smith lost him on that goal. Do you blame Howard for that? If a defenseman is where they are supposed to be, that puck that dribbled through his pads gets tucked back in by the D. Boston was there and no one could even lift his stick.

 

Howard made mistakes though. OTOH, he made some freaking outstanding saves! You can't ignore the good ones in evaluating his performance. Was he as good as Game 1? Nope. Not close. But he wasn't challenged in Game 1 like he was in Game 2 either. He would have had to stand on his head for us to even be in this game. He didn't.

 

If the Red Wings are gonna play like we are expecting Howie to have to stand on his head in order to win, we are done! We've gotta play better, and stay clean. We can't afford to be in the box. Boston can, unfortunately. Our PP is lacking. Badly.

Unfortunately Howard's gaff set the tone for the night.

The Wings need to trying to be rough. They're just not going to win that way. Also score on the PP and make Boston pay for their rough crap.

[SpikeDDS]

@Old School Hockey

 

They don't need to be rough. They need to play tight and disciplined. Boston got in their heads. Being down early didn't help. You're right, the gaffe hurt, but if they had dug in and recommited to discipline, it wouldn't have been irevocable. Once they scored the second one, it was all but over anyway, and then we lost our cool, which finished us off.

[Old School Hockey]

Jimmy SOFT GOAL Howard sets the tone again!

[Old School Hockey]

Howard is not the only reason why this team struggles. But he is NOT a cup caliber goalie and is way overpaid for what he brings. Right now the goaltending situation reminds of the early 90's goaltending situation until Vernon came to the Wings.

[yave1964]

crap. double crap.