Wings come back down 3 to win in overtime!

[yave1964]

Great character win in the game against the Devils last night, giving Jimmy Howard the night off against the slumping Devils, putting Mrazak in net, the Wings seemed out of sorts as they fell behind 3-1 early and 4-1 just a minute into the second.

Rookie Xavier Oullet scored his first ever goal but then minutes later Kyle Quincey and Nick Kronwall took penalties 4 seconds apart giving the Devils a 2 minute power play which the Wings killed, and then on a power play of their own Abdelkader scored making it 4-3. The momentum was all Detroit's from then on, and the goal by Drew Miller in the third, (his first of the year) tied the game forcing overtime and eventually a shootout.

Red Wings rookie goalie Petr Mrazek, who was making his second start this season, stopped Jacob Josefson, Mike Cammalleri and Michael Ryder in the tiebreaker. The 22-year-old battled back to get his second win of the season after allowing four goals on 16 shots in the first two periods.

"It was my first (NHL) shootout, and I was very excited for it," Mrazek said. "I was watching these guys on video a little bit on how they shoot, and that was helpful. But it's still tough." Gus Nyquist scored as the Wings first shooter and that was that.

First, a bit about the Devils. Having watched them multiple times this year, I am still trying to figure out their defensive style. 3 of the Wings goals were allowed as the Wings got behind the defense and were all alone five feet in front of Schneider. It is almost as if the Devils are afraid to collapse in front of the net, I don't know if Schneider has asked them not to, if he is afraid to be screened or what, but I have seen no team this year who does less in front of the net to protect their goalie.

Cammeleri does what he does, he scores goals and Jagr looks ageless. God I wish we had signed him 3 years ago when he came back to the NHL.

Danny Dekeyser was awful for much of the game last night, he got turned around a few times early and his failed clearing attempt on a penalty kill led to a Devils goal and he looked tentative from there, but he was wonderful on the 5-3 kill.

Secondary scoring!! Holy cow, we have been on a run of games where the top line does not have to do it all and last night was no exception. Great to see. Especially Miller who had one waived off early in the year and does the little things that get little notice. Good to see his hard work finally pay off with a goal.

Oullet is ticketed for Grand Rapids soon, nice goal pinching in and his offensive ability made me sit up and take notice. He wont be gone long. I was hoping they would recall Sproul because he is a right handed shot but as usual, after I second guess Babs on anything I end up sighing and admitting the error of my ways.

I really like the line of Helm, Weiss and Datsyuk. Three playmakers together have to be giving the opposition fits. It allows Nyquist Zetterberg and Franzen to do their thing and as a third line their are few, if any better than Tatar, Sheahan and Abdelkaer. Mix and match according to game situations and the team is down right deadly.

This is Zetterberg's team, period. I love Pavel and Kronner, but Z makes this team go. He has to stay healthy for it to work but he has done so for the first quarter of the season with wonderful results.

Now back home for Sunday against Vancouver. Go Wings!

[SpikeDDS]

Danny Dekeyser was awful for much of the game last night, he got turned around a few times early and his failed clearing attempt on a penalty kill led to a Devils goal and he looked tentative from there, but he was wonderful on the 5-3 kill.

I'm glad that I am not alone in my thoughts on DK. The first period, he looked completely lost! I think that's the worst I've seen him play as a Wing. I was glad to see him pitch in to the 5-on-3. For those that didn't see it, it was almost 2 minutes long, and they only gave up ONE shot. They were blocking shots well. A lot of it was Glendening, Miller and Ericsson though, but DK was himself again too for part of it.

 

Secondary scoring!! Holy cow, we have been on a run of games where the top line does not have to do it all and last night was no exception. Great to see. Especially Miller who had one waived off early in the year and does the little things that get little notice. Good to see his hard work finally pay off with a goal.

Don't know if you saw the post-game interview with Miller, but it was crystal clear that both the called-off goal and the goalless streak were weighing heavily on him. He is a valuable member of the PK crew, and he knows that, but there's nothing like scoring to boost your confidence. Hope it opens the floodgates for him.

 

Babs has gotta be licking his chops with 4 lines that are almost equivalent. (Not quite, but close enough.) If you are the opposing coach, who do you focus on? You can't! What a contrast this is from last year, when everyone was out injured and it seemed like we were fortunate when we had 2 lines running, eh?

 

Oullet is ticketed for Grand Rapids soon, nice goal pinching in and his offensive ability made me sit up and take notice. He wont be gone long. I was hoping they would recall Sproul because he is a right handed shot but as usual, after I second guess Babs on anything I end up sighing and admitting the error of my ways.

 

I think this has been a VERY good call-up for the kid. He looks ready, and this will help his confidence. I think you are right that he will be sent back down. If Laschoff falters, you can expect to see him right back up, though. Lasch has played better this year than last, as has Smitty. It was funny but not funny that when DK was screwing up in the 1st, it brought the 2013-14 Smith to mind--like did they switch bodies or something! DK will be fine. Bad periods happen.

I really like the line of Helm, Weiss and Datsyuk. Three playmakers together have to be giving the opposition fits. It allows Nyquist Zetterberg and Franzen to do their thing and as a third line their are few, if any better than Tatar, Sheahan and Abdelkaer. Mix and match according to game situations and the team is down right deadly.

This is Zetterberg's team, period. I love Pavel and Kronner, but Z makes this team go. He has to stay healthy for it to work but he has done so for the first quarter of the season with wonderful results.

 

Oh, BABY! Weiss has really made a difference! He's the guy going to the net, Helm's got the speed, and 13's...well...13! I have liked seeing Pav shoot more since his return. I know he's so good as a playmaker, but when he is at his best, he's shooting the puck. I agree with you. Leave that line alone!

 

In fact, I like the lines we have right now better than I have in the past three seasons. Even that 4th line of Glendening's is key, shutting down the opposing top line with pretty good success of late.

 

And yes, this is Z's team. Pav's got the skills, and he IS a driven guy, but Z's heart is the one that beats for this team. Even when he doesn't score, he's creating; he's winning puck battles; he plays heavy on the puck. I once didn't understand why Gretzky said that he considered Hank one of the best opposing centers he played against. It is easier to understand now for me than when he said it years ago.

 

If we can keep healthy and progress some of the younger players even more, watch out for this team!

[jammer2]

Oullet is ticketed for Grand Rapids soon, nice goal pinching in and his offensive ability made me sit up and take notice. He wont be gone long. I was hoping they would recall Sproul because he is a right handed shot but as usual, after I second guess Babs on anything I end up sighing and admitting the error of my ways.

 

  Oullete and Sproul will indeed be legit NHL players. The problem is one you have accurately pointed out a few times. Holland will simply not make a trade to make room for them. He won't make a trade period. It *has* be very frustrating to watch. It's his BIG weakness as a GM. I'm all for developing kids, using patience in grooming them etc....but sometimes, trades are necessary, a concept Holland must learn, or it will cost him his job...not that Illitich will make that kinda tough call, he is loyal to a fault.

[SpikeDDS]

  Oullete and Sproul will indeed be legit NHL players. The problem is one you have accurately pointed out a few times. Holland will simply not make a trade to make room for them. He won't make a trade period. It *has* be very frustrating to watch. It's his BIG weakness as a GM. I'm all for developing kids, using patience in grooming them etc....but sometimes, trades are necessary, a concept Holland must learn, or it will cost him his job...not that Illitich will make that kinda tough call, he is loyal to a fault.

Well, I'm not sure I buy into your theory here that Holland doesn't know how to make a trade. I think you make the big trade when you are close to competing for a Cup and a trade can genuinely put you at that level. These past few seasons, we have NOT been close to competing for a Cup. We have been just good enough to get to the playoffs and sometimes even make an opposing 1st round team nervous, but we really haven't been close enough to where 1 trade or even two will have us legitimately competing in the 3rd and 4th rounds. But we HAVE had this VERY impressive crew of young prospects who it was still too early to bring them to the NHL level.

 

I think Holland caved somewhat last year giving up a very good prospect for David Legwand. He caved to the pressure of trying to extend the playoff streak. I was against that trade from the start, and I was right. Many of us were.

 

I actually think Holland is doing the right thing right now, even though it has been late in coming. They are now developing these young players at the NHL level in earnest. Two years ago, there was practically zilch of that. Last year, it was only by necessity due to injuries. For crying out loud, Gus Nyqvist was in GR at the beginning of that season! This year, they are doing it because they are finally seeing it as the way forward for the franchise, and they are right. Get these kids developed either to make a run or else to improve their value for dealing at the trade deadline if they think 1 trade or 2 might be enough, depending on who is available. No need to give away the store, but if a chance arises for a legitimate Cup run, you make some sacrifices at that point.

 

Most great long-run teams were not built with the foundation of a big trade or two. Those are for when you are close but not close enough and you want to get there.

[jammer2]

@SpikeDDS  I get where you're coming from, but sometimes a trade does not have to involve a cup run. Sometimes, it can just involve making the current roster stronger. For instance, a couple years ago, Franzen could have brought in a nice haul. As most Wings fans know, he's much to streaky and when he is not scoring, adds little else to the roster. The time to make that deal was a few years ago, now the book is out and that ship has sailed. If the timing was right, he could have been shipped out as a legit power forward and the Wings could have got a nice return...now his value has slipped to the point that a trade is not even a possibility.

[SpikeDDS]

@jammer2

I get what you are saying, but I really didn't see other teams valuing Franzen very highly because he was always so streaky. He also has had a tendency to stop skating--willful IMHO. I don't think the Wings would have gotten much in return. It think it is obvious that the big mistake was taking him instead of Marian Hossa. Once that happened, he wasn't as productive but had the same dry streaks as before...but they were more prolonged and more pronounced.

 

They could have dealt him, sure, but I'm not sure they would have got an equivalent talent. Franzen's problem is his drive, methinks. He's got so pretty nice hands. If we could clone Zetterberg's heart and stick that in Franzen's chest, he'd be formidable...not Datsyukian, but still dang good! It just didn't pan out. I think other teams have smelled that drive deficit. It's not really hard to see, unless you wear Red and White glasses and want to see him do well. Then you tend to ignore his shortcomings in the hopes that the skillful scorer will emerge.

 

It may also be that I tend to be somewhat conservative like Holland seems to be. You're right about it not always being about a cup run. However, it tends to be that way more IF you have a good bunch of prospects like we do. Then you have to decide if it is worth the wait to develop these guys or if the time is now to sell them and get what you need to jump you to compete seriously. If your farm isn't so good, then the trade becomes a bigger piece of the puzzle.

 

Would you agree?

[jammer2]

@SpikeDDS   Yes, I agree completely. Holland is in a position of strength because of the depth in Grand Rapids. It affords him the luxury of standing pat and patiently waiting until the prospects make their inevitable leap into the NHL. I do think he's been to conservative, but that is better than being overly active and making deals just for the hell of it.