Swagger. Next, consistency.

[SpikeDDS]

Best-played game in a long while today. Unlike most of our other recent wins, which relied on strong offense to win it, this was won by BOTH a strong defensive performance as well as a strong offensive effort. We didn't need all of the offense on the scoresheet, but it sure did set the tone for the game. The first half of this game was all Wings.

 

Oh yeah, and some goaltending! Mrazek was more than solid. I LOVE his ability to play the puck. I love when he is out challenging, even though on occasion it can be his undoing at times. I still like it, just like I like Tatar's enthusiasm. It spills over to others. He better get the start tomorrow too.

 

In my opinion, this might have been Luke Glendening's best performance as a Red Wing. The dude was EVERYWHERE! Blocking shots. Hitting people. Winning puck battles. Breakaways. Jawing with the opposing skaters getting in their heads. I was extremely happy that he got that EN goal at the end. Well-deserved reward for his hard work today. He is a very critical piece of our team and the PK. PK was close to outstanding today.

 

Even though I don't think he made the scoresheet, I think the return of Pavel Datsyuk was very significant. Again, it just totally changes the defensive strategy, and makes them pick the lesser of 3 evils. Couple of really nice feeds to Tats, even though he got stopped. He sure makes zone entry look easy.

 

Obviously tip of the helmet to Abby too. Dude is on fire, offensively.

 

A VERY needed performance, and not just a needed win. We needed to win THIS way. Now we need to build on it, and make it consistent again. One game at a time, boys!

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Saw this game, and yes, I was NOT happy about the Bolts efforts as compared to Detroit's.

 

Seems the Wings were beating the Lightning to loose pucks all game long, they drove to the net, whilst TB was content to shoot from the perimeter, and when the Lightning DID get close to the net, Mrazek looked like a Vezina candidate.

 

Bolts were going for the season sweep in this one against the Wings, and well, sweeps are not easy to come by on ANYONE....the Wild went for it against the Oilers some time back and couldn't get it done, Detroit is obviously a better opponent.

 

But you are right, @SpikeDDS ...it wasn't so much the two points, but rather HOW it was done.

And conversely, for the Lightning, it wasn't so much that they lost a game (that's gonna happen), but the fact that Detroit dictated to THEM how the game was going to be played....and I even saw some of that too when the Lightning faced Nashville before this game.

 

Ben Bishop didn't look particularly solid in either game.

 

Congrats to you guys, but hopefully, for me, the Bolts were embarrassed enough by this game that they take it out on their next opponent.

They've been pretty consistent that way all year.

TB has NOT lost more than 2 in a row all year.....so they usually take lessons from games like the one in Nashville and this one.

 

And if Det - TB will be a first round matchup, then the Bolts will need to focus on what they did right the previous meetings (wins) and not so much on this one (loss), though they certainly can't take the Wings for granted at ANY rate.

Detroit of course, will probably hang their hats on this win, the last meeting, and try transplanting that gameplay to any series meeting.

They'd be smart to do so.

[SpikeDDS]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

Any team can play one game like this...or like that. The Wings have not played well agains the Bolts the last couple of seasons here. TB has pretty much had our number--enough where you can't necessaily predict any one game, but if you played a best of seven, it would be more predictable.

The road to the Cup will NOT be easy through the Atlantic division, that is for SURE! It doesn't matter which team you are.

And we better keep our eyes on the Sens, because they are REALLY coming. If I'm Montreal, I'd be hoping that Boston hangs on to that final WC position. I wouldn't want to play them in the first round.

[Old School Hockey]

In my opinion is time to move on with Mrazek in net. Will he have badvdays? Yes! But his ability to move on is incredible. And for whatever the reason the team plays better he's in net!

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS @Old School Hockey SchoolHockey @TropicalFruitGirl26

The Wings played a solid game, the Bolts were flat as could be. It begs the question, the elephant in the room:

Who is the Wings goalie going forward?

To say that Howard has been dreadful might not quite right but inconsistent is an understatement. Two bad games followed by one good one where as Wings fans we breathe a sigh of relief, followed by two bad ones.

Mrazek, as I and others in here have pointed out is a fun young cocky goalie who makes up for lack of experience with his moxie. He won a Calder with the Griffins two years ago, not the big stage to be sure but a damn good league.

Howard took forever to get his career going, has had good years (not great) followed by mediocre ones. Never bad, never great, just a goalie.

The Wings team as built is solid and above average everywhere except in net. Not great, but very good. A very good goalie would possibly make the Wings a playoff force.

Can Howard be a very good goalie? Not an average one, but very good, one who plays at the level of his team or even elevates it? I don't know. Last offseason I begged the Wings to deal Howard and sign Miller or give Mrazek a shot. I still feel the same way.

Can Mrazek be a very good goalie, one who plays at the level of a very good team or even elevates it? My answer, after watching him numerous times with the Griffins and his time with the Wings is a resounding yes. He can have very bad games too, but unlike Howard who never seems to steal a game, Mrazek has.

It would take a coach with serious guts to sit the veteran and go with the kid. Babcock IMHO is that coach. I would go with Mrazek, with Howard in reserve come postseason. I hope Babs does the same.

[SpikeDDS]

Can Mrazek be a very good goalie, one who plays at the level of a very good team or even elevates it? My answer, after watching him numerous times with the Griffins and his time with the Wings is a resounding yes. He can have very bad games too, but unlike Howard who never seems to steal a game, Mrazek has.

It would take a coach with serious guts to sit the veteran and go with the kid. Babcock IMHO is that coach. I would go with Mrazek, with Howard in reserve come postseason. I hope Babs does the same.

I don't know if Babs would have been able to do it 2 seasons ago. Seemed like he was reticent to sit veteran players. But last year forced him to change and trust young players, and they didn't disappoint. I think that has helped him stay more true to "if you play well, you play more" as he tries to say. Before, they seemed like just words. Now, I think it has prepared him for a bold move for such a time as this.

 

I agree with your assessment of Howard. Not terrible, not not elite. When the team is stacked in front of a guy like that, he can be enough. They can make him look better than he is. But if all the cylinders are not clicking, the difference between a good and a great goaltender is that the great one can put the team on his shoulders and carry them. Howard HAS done that, but it has been really rare. You can't expect anyone to do it all of the time, but great goalies do it more often than Howard does.

 

Mrazek looks like he has the makings to have the persona to be that kind of goalie to me. He still has much to learn. He's got to learn to control his challenging to some degree. That is a process. It may be ugly a few times along the way, but I think it'll still be better than what we have now. I think Howard would be an excellent backup veteran to help him learn, if his ego can take that.

[Old School Hockey]

@SpikeDDS @Old School Hockey SchoolHockey @TropicalFruitGirl26The Wings played a solid game, the Bolts were flat as could be. It begs the question, the elephant in the room:Who is the Wings goalie going forward?To say that Howard has been dreadful might not quite right but inconsistent is an understatement. Two bad games followed by one good one where as Wings fans we breathe a sigh of relief, followed by two bad ones.Mrazek, as I and others in here have pointed out is a fun young cocky goalie who makes up for lack of experience with his moxie. He won a Calder with the Griffins two years ago, not the big stage to be sure but a damn good league.Howard took forever to get his career going, has had good years (not great) followed by mediocre ones. Never bad, never great, just a goalie.The Wings team as built is solid and above average everywhere except in net. Not great, but very good. A very good goalie would possibly make the Wings a playoff force.Can Howard be a very good goalie? Not an average one, but very good, one who plays at the level of his team or even elevates it? I don't know. Last offseason I begged the Wings to deal Howard and sign Miller or give Mrazek a shot. I still feel the same way.Can Mrazek be a very good goalie, one who plays at the level of a very good team or even elevates it? My answer, after watching him numerous times with the Griffins and his time with the Wings is a resounding yes. He can have very bad games too, but unlike Howard who never seems to steal a game, Mrazek has.It would take a coach with serious guts to sit the veteran and go with the kid. Babcock IMHO is that coach. I would go with Mrazek, with Howard in reserve come postseason. I hope Babs does the same.

Here's a few things.

Howard was never forced to earn his spot.

Howard's career has been a roller coaster.

Howard has never been pushed, with the future crawling up his butt he's failing.

As to guts? He benched Osgood in favor or the unproven rookie.

One Howard's worst years stats wise he had Rafalski, Lidstrom, Stuart and Kronwall playing defense. So I'm done hearing about its the defense issue.

Howard is proving to be a head case.

[SpikeDDS]

@Old School Hockey

 

I agree with some of the stuff you posted, but on some of it, I'm not sure what you are talking about.

 

Let's speak plainly: You don't like Jimmy Howard. We get it. I don't love him, but I don't hate him. Saying he had his worst years with Lidstrom, Rafalski etc is being disingenuous. His worst complete season was--surprise, surprise--his sophomore season. Boy that NEVER happens to anyone in this game, especially goalies! The season before that--his first year as a starter was his best season. He faced more shots those two years than any other, and the other years aren't even close. I agree that he hasn't been pushed. I agree that he has been a roller coaster. because after that sophomore season he improved the next two seasons and then precipitously dropped to average and has stayed there. (I'm using save %, not GAA, because A. you don't like it, and B. it's probably a truer gauge of individual play.) I don't have a problem with his sophomore season. I have a problem with the ones after that, but THOSE can be blamed in part by the loss of his defense. Let's be honest that that matters.

 

When you talk about Babcock's guts, I agree (and my post history will show) that his indecision to bench players as a method for motivating players has been a problem. That seems to have changed a little these past couple of years. He benched Hudler before he left. But other than that, the only people he has benched were 3rd or 4th liners or people who were at least in part somewhat injured. Scotty Bowman scratched Brendan Shanahan when he was healthy (except in his own head) on more than one occasion to get him going. Never seen that from Babcock UNLESS injury forced it. Last year, he was FORCED to use young kids, and I think he learned something. I was afraid that these last two seasons that Dan Cleary would be taking time from some of the kids, and it hasn't happened. That's been a good thing. He has not played Weiss as much as Riley Sheahan. I agree that that's a good thing.

 

Is Howard a head case? I'm not so sure, but I will say this: He isn't good enough where he can afford to be even SOMEWHAT of a head case. He's...OK. He's had 3 years where his save % has been .920 or better. That's not bad. He's had 3 years where it has been below .915. Not so good. He's never been below .910. That's not horrible. I think @yave1964's assessment is dean on--he's been an above average goalie. He is not a GREAT goalie.

 

But OTOH, he is now being pushed, and you are right that he is not responding well, there's no question about that. And he looks downright ridiculous in the shootout this year. Heck, I have wanted Babs to pull Howard for the shootout and let either of the other 2 guys take it, but that would very likely bruise his ego and hurt the team in the short run.

 

Do I think Mrazek deserves a shot? Yep. I like what I'm seeing. He's still a rookie and has to learn how to be a more consistent goalie, but he's got the psychological makings of a great goalie. You had to just LOVE when he told the reporter who asked him if he thought he had a shot at Gustavsson's  spot this year and he responded that with all due respect, he's after Howie's job! What chutzpah! And he has--with a few exceptions--shown that on the ice. He looked very solid against TB, so Babs is right to reward him with another start. And at this point, you ride with the guy who is playing better, and if it's Peter, then it's Petr.

 

At this very moment, the top spot is Mrazek's to lose. He's starting today. If he keeps playing well, Howie will be running stats. How long he can keep things going before he has one of those bad games will determine whether he continues to own that top spot or not on an immediately more permanent basis. If he has one in the next 2 games, Howard will be back in, mark my words. I hope he doesn't, but that's where he is right now.

[Old School Hockey]

His playoffs when teams get better!

2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 12 5 7 720 33 1 2.75 .915

So yes his worst year with a great defense.

[Old School Hockey]

@Old School Hockey

 

I agree with some of the stuff you posted, but on some of it, I'm not sure what you are talking about.

 

Let's speak plainly: You don't like Jimmy Howard. We get it. I don't love him, but I don't hate him. Saying he had his worst years with Lidstrom, Rafalski etc is being disingenuous. His worst complete season was--surprise, surprise--his sophomore season. Boy that NEVER happens to anyone in this game, especially goalies! The season before that--his first year as a starter was his best season. He faced more shots those two years than any other, and the other years aren't even close. I agree that he hasn't been pushed. I agree that he has been a roller coaster. because after that sophomore season he improved the next two seasons and then precipitously dropped to average and has stayed there. (I'm using save %, not GAA, because A. you don't like it, and B. it's probably a truer gauge of individual play.) I don't have a problem with his sophomore season. I have a problem with the ones after that, but THOSE can be blamed in part by the loss of his defense. Let's be honest that that matters.

 

When you talk about Babcock's guts, I agree (and my post history will show) that his indecision to bench players as a method for motivating players has been a problem. That seems to have changed a little these past couple of years. He benched Hudler before he left. But other than that, the only people he has benched were 3rd or 4th liners or people who were at least in part somewhat injured. Scotty Bowman scratched Brendan Shanahan when he was healthy (except in his own head) on more than one occasion to get him going. Never seen that from Babcock UNLESS injury forced it. Last year, he was FORCED to use young kids, and I think he learned something. I was afraid that these last two seasons that Dan Cleary would be taking time from some of the kids, and it hasn't happened. That's been a good thing. He has not played Weiss as much as Riley Sheahan. I agree that that's a good thing.

 

Is Howard a head case? I'm not so sure, but I will say this: He isn't good enough where he can afford to be even SOMEWHAT of a head case. He's...OK. He's had 3 years where his save % has been .920 or better. That's not bad. He's had 3 years where it has been below .915. Not so good. He's never been below .910. That's not horrible. I think @yave1964's assessment is dean on--he's been an above average goalie. He is not a GREAT goalie.

 

But OTOH, he is now being pushed, and you are right that he is not responding well, there's no question about that. And he looks downright ridiculous in the shootout this year. Heck, I have wanted Babs to pull Howard for the shootout and let either of the other 2 guys take it, but that would very likely bruise his ego and hurt the team in the short run.

 

Do I think Mrazek deserves a shot? Yep. I like what I'm seeing. He's still a rookie and has to learn how to be a more consistent goalie, but he's got the psychological makings of a great goalie. You had to just LOVE when he told the reporter who asked him if he thought he had a shot at Gustavsson's  spot this year and he responded that with all due respect, he's after Howie's job! What chutzpah! And he has--with a few exceptions--shown that on the ice. He looked very solid against TB, so Babs is right to reward him with another start. And at this point, you ride with the guy who is playing better, and if it's Peter, then it's Petr.

 

At this very moment, the top spot is Mrazek's to lose. He's starting today. If he keeps playing well, Howie will be running stats. How long he can keep things going before he has one of those bad games will determine whether he continues to own that top spot or not on an immediately more permanent basis. If he has one in the next 2 games, Howard will be back in, mark my words. I hope he doesn't, but that's where he is right now.

Let's be clear on one thing!!!!!

I was a huge Jimmy supporter. Until broke off in my butt too many times.

By us having this conversation tells me there's a problem! He's simply a waste of cap space and is never going to be a great goalie!! That ship has sailed and he's headed towards the down slide of what has been a mediocre at best career.

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS@Old School Hockey

The absolute number one thing that I LOVE about Mrazek.

His worst two games of the season were bad, ugly losses to the Penguins and the Bolts. Just dreadful in both games.

Babcock either out of desire to see what the kid is made of or exasperation with Howard gave Mrazek a start against the Penguins on March 15th and he had a 42 save 5-1 victory. And then, yesterday with the Wings giving up 5 goals a game with alarming regularity he shut out the highest scoring team in hockey 4-0. The two teams lit him up last time out, he was given gut check starts and responded against two of the best offenses in the game stopping 65 of 66 shots the next time out.

Oh, Jimmy Howard. I agonize over this guy, nothing would make me happier than to see him get it together. But if not I am quite happy with Mrazek.

[Old School Hockey]

@SpikeDDS@Old School HockeyThe absolute number one thing that I LOVE about Mrazek.His worst two games of the season were bad, ugly losses to the Penguins and the Bolts. Just dreadful in both games.Babcock either out of desire to see what the kid is made of or exasperation with Howard gave Mrazek a start against the Penguins on March 15th and he had a 42 save 5-1 victory. And then, yesterday with the Wings giving up 5 goals a game with alarming regularity he shut out the highest scoring team in hockey 4-0. The two teams lit him up last time out, he was given gut check starts and responded against two of the best offenses in the game stopping 65 of 66 shots the next time out.Oh, Jimmy Howard. I agonize over this guy, nothing would make me happier than to see him get it together. But if not I am quite happy with Mrazek.

At this point in time I hold my breathe (and I mean every) every time a shot goes at Howard.

Make no mistake that seem feeling is with his teammates and the coaching staff.