2015-16 Red Wings Season Discussion

[yave1964]

@jammer2

I remember a quote, I believe by Ditka that when you have two Quarterbacks you don't have any quarterbacks. Kind of applies to goalies as well.

When Howard goes out and lays an egg against a team he knows he is going to still start in two games, conversely when he shuts out a team he still knows Mrazek is in net the next night.

Mrazek knows all of this too.

I would like to see the team ride with one of them, give them a chance to hit their stride and start 55 games a year. It is tough because Howard as the well paid incumbent is certainly not the worst goalie in the league but Mrazek as the brash young kid could be among the best but has to prove himself.

I would go with Mrazek but they need to find a taker for Howard which is going to be difficult at best with his contract and his history of injuries.

[WingNut722]

So what can only be described as a minor pandemic within the Red Wings locker room shows up in October in stead of it's usual January/February.  The list so far:

 

Pavel Datsyuk

Johan Franzen

Mike Green

Brad Richards

Kyle Quincey

 

The shortest delay is purported to be Kyle Quincey out one week as he undergoes concussion protocol.  Next is Brad Richards, out 1-2 weeks to rest an aching back.  I would be a bit more excited about it if it weren't for the fact that Kyle Quincey is out one week as he undergoes concussion protocol and Brad Richards is out 1-2 weeks to rest an aching back.  Those are both notoriously recurring injuries that have the potential to ruin an entire career.  

Surely the younger guys are happy for the opportunity to step in for more playing time, but it's a little frustrating that, not even a month into the season, the Wings have lost five guys, two of which are the big free agents we signed over the summer!  

 

All I can hope for is that this is THE injury event of the season and that it's all onward and upward from this point forward.

[yave1964]

So what can only be described as a minor pandemic within the Red Wings locker room shows up in October in stead of it's usual January/February.  The list so far:

 

Pavel Datsyuk

Johan Franzen

Mike Green

Brad Richards

Kyle Quincey

 

The shortest delay is purported to be Kyle Quincey out one week as he undergoes concussion protocol.  Next is Brad Richards, out 1-2 weeks to rest an aching back.  I would be a bit more excited about it if it weren't for the fact that Kyle Quincey is out one week as he undergoes concussion protocol and Brad Richards is out 1-2 weeks to rest an aching back.  Those are both notoriously recurring injuries that have the potential to ruin an entire career.  

Surely the younger guys are happy for the opportunity to step in for more playing time, but it's a little frustrating that, not even a month into the season, the Wings have lost five guys, two of which are the big free agents we signed over the summer!  

 

All I can hope for is that this is THE injury event of the season and that it's all onward and upward from this point forward.

For years when Datsyuk went out we were done, tread water and hope to make the points up when he comes back. Not saying we are killing it but we have played much better with him out than any time in recent memory.

Thank God for the depth everywhere. the kids at Grand Rapids are off to a slow start save for Ryan Sproul who is getting top pair minutes on the back end and doing wonderful. Glad we are giving Marchenko the first crack but Sproul and his heavy shot have been a favorite of mine, he slipped back last year and was very average but this year he seems to have reported ready to put himself back in the conversation alongside both Oullet and Marchenko.

[yave1964]

GAME 9 HURRICANES AT RED WINGS

In a quirk of the schedule the Wings play Carolina for the third time in nine games, unusual to be sure. They split the first two with Carolina outshooting the Wings by an absurd amount in both games.

The Wings scratches for tonight are Brad Richards (Back) Quincey and Mule (Concussion) Pavel (ankle) and Mike Green (upper body).

Noah Hanifin is a healthy scratch for the Canes leading to rumors that they are close to making a decision to return him to Junior.

For Detroit with Richards now out Dylan Larkin is now centering the second line with Tatar and Pulkinnen flanking him with Nyquist returned to the Wing with Z and Abby. The third line is composed of 3 centers, Glendening, Helm and Sheahan.

Marchenko is on the second pair of defense teamed with Dekeyser which makes sense because Dekeyser is one of our better men at covering up mistakes in the back end. Marchenko likes to travel with the puck and join the rush. Kronner is back with big E what with Green being out. Not sure what to think of Kindl and Brendan smith, both are better this year than they were under Babs.

Mrazek (2-2, 2.75 and .924 is in net for Detroit, Cam Ward for Carolina (2-4 2.47 and .899) is starting for Carolina.

Eric Staal now seems to be permanently moved to the Wing to save wear and tear and is teamed with exciting young players Viktor Rask and Elias Lindholm on the first line. Defenseman Justin Faulk has only 2 goals all year, both against the Wings as power d-men continue to own the Wings.

Drop the puck at 7:30. Go Wings!

[jammer2]

@yave1964  Kinda shocking, Faulk no longer on the top pp in Carolina....did not see that coming. Maybe they are showcasing Murphy to move him out of town?

[yave1964]

@jammer2

Faulk has done hardly anything against anyone save for the Wings but he is enormously talented and I think he will get it together.

[yave1964]

3-1 Carolina. Another game where a defenseman this time Hainsey (who usually comes across the blue line only on Groundhog Day if the little bugger sees his shadow) gets his first goal of the year after doing zip against the rest of the league.

Flat. The word for the day is flat. I am going back to bed.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

 

Is it Blash?

 

How do you explain the starkest difference in on-ice performance from last season to this?  It's natural to look at the starkest difference of the team itself from last season to this.   

 

It has to be asked.

 

To my view, the Wings look disorganized out there.  Missing passes, losing board battles, miscues all over.  They look like they've never met each other until that night.  Very few shots on goal, but very few shot attempts.  Frustratingly, they keep wanting to wait until the perfect opening to try to shoot the puck.  They are forever passing to each other which invariably leads to turnovers.  I think Friday night at Ottawa should be a 40-shot game.  Everything goes at the net, no matter how good or bad the opportunity might be.  Statistically speaking, at least SOME should get through.  

 

They need victories to get the "cut back in the strut."  If those victories are ugly, then so be it.  They're still worth 2 points.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

To my view, the Wings look disorganized out there.  Missing passes, losing board battles, miscues all over.  They look like they've never met each other until that night.  Very few shots on goal, but very few shot attempts.  Frustratingly, they keep wanting to wait until the perfect opening to try to shoot the puck.  They are forever passing to each other which invariably leads to turnovers.  I think Friday night at Ottawa should be a 40-shot game.  Everything goes at the net, no matter how good or bad the opportunity might be.  Statistically speaking, at least SOME should get through.  

 

They need victories to get the "cut back in the strut."  If those victories are ugly, then so be it.  They're still worth 2 points.

Actually you are right, but the OTHER thing they are doing--perhaps to compensate?--is early unscreened shots upon entry into the zone, because no one else is up there with them. It ends up being one and done. Ward had a BUNCH of easy saves last night. Many of them were these kinds of shots. No sustained offensive pressure.

[WingNut722]

Actually you are right, but the OTHER thing they are doing--perhaps to compensate?--is early unscreened shots upon entry into the zone, because no one else is up there with them. It ends up being one and done. Ward had a BUNCH of easy saves last night. Many of them were these kinds of shots. No sustained offensive pressure.

 

 Of course, offensive position must be secured.  last night, the Wings had a fair amount of time in Carolina zone, but never did anything with it.  Once they have bodies in the zone, it's Fire At Will.  The goalie can save all he wants, but the puck can't go south if it's already going north.  

 

By the same token though, Mickey Redmond made a good point last night.  They spent so much time defending that by the time they moved the puck across center, that the shift was gassed and had no energy left.  

 

Solid defense to get the puck back to center, and then keep it in the offensive zone with a lot of shots.  

[SpikeDDS]

Reviving the thread:

Just sayin': Tonight's game against Anaheim was one of the most ridiculously-lopsidedly-officiated games we've played this season, if not THE most. Embarrassing performance by the officials. Not that we played well enough to win. We did not. But there were at least 5 EASY calls against Anaheim which were not called. No-brainers which weren't penalized. It was 5 v. 7 tonight, though as much as I would like to, I can't give the stripes all the credit for the loss. Datsyuk's severed stick would have meant a LONG 5-on-3 opportunity which might have actually given us a chance to score a <gasp> PP goal! But no. And that was just one of them.

Our defense was pathetic tonight. Cough, cough, cough. Even some of our usually-reliable D-men were fallible tonight. Marchenko let Kesler get ahead of him for an easy score. How many giveaways did we have in our own end? Howard wasn't great, but our guys really left him out to dry.

Tonight's #1 example of the blind squirrel that finds a nut: Jurco's pretty top-shelf breakaway goal.

That wasn't a typo. You read that right...Jurco.

Tonight's #2 example of a blind squirrel finding a nut: DeKeyser's 6-on-4 empty-net PP goal. Oh...wait...penalty expired. Never mind. Our PP continues to be defined as 2 minutes to rest our PK guys. Is there a defibrillator in the house? The PP is flatlining. Is it time to call it yet?