SpikeDDS Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Apparently, AA is being put on a top-two line with Nielsen and Z. It is high time this kid got his chance. I like the line. Hopefully, his speed can either open things up north-south or else forecheck and get TOs and feed the other two for opportunities in the O-zone. Perhaps he can help pump some energy into Z and keep him young! Doesn't necessarily fix our D issues, but I like this tinkering. Steve Ott is out. Despite the loss in Tampa, I thought Nyke and Vanek helped one another as well. Obviously Vanek coming out with 2 goals in the opener made a statement. And his PP goal was nice to see, as that was a major reason to pick him up. But Thursday's loss despite 4 goals did really expose our pedestrian D issue. Granted, the Bolts are just about as big a test on your D that you can get, so maybe we can take some solace in that, but Mrazek kept it a lot closer than it could have been. They made some of their goals look easy, and some were really shooters' goals, with Boyle and Drouin both hitting top shelf/corners. Mrazek didn't have his best night, letting in 2 stoppable goals, but had some fabulous saves on quite a few others. Gonna be another good test tonight with the Panthers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Athanasiou has speed to burn. Going to be a fun guy to watch for Wing fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 @flyercanuck told me about AA when the Wings drafted him and I have enjoyed his AHL exploits and his brief time in the NHL, it seems that once a night he does SOMETHING that makes my jaw drop, gets behind the defense, steals a puck that he has no business being near, has a breakaway, always something. Fun kid to watch, the modern game is about speed and not brawn, he and Larkin make for a fun pair to keep an eye on. @SpikeDDS I could not agree more! He deserves to be in the lineup every day and a top six role until he shows he cannot handle the job. Now if we can get Mantha in the lineup...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 @yave1964 True dat on Mantha, especially if things aren't going well. How they really thought signing Steve Ott was better than providing a spot for Mantha to develop is beyond me. Try to develop him. Put him in, and if he's not cutting the mustard, trade him. But playing him down in GR only makes sense if he was only gonna get 4th line minutes as a Wing. Would love to see what happens to the PP if he is put on it again. The PP improved seeeegnificantly last year when he was in, even though he wasn't directly responsible for most of the points. Let's figure out whether that was just coincidental or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haliax Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Team was terrible today, they don't have a proper system and they don't have any D talent. Team gets pinned in their zone, and even when they get the puck moving, the D just neuters the transition game. Blashill also seems to be a less effective coach than even Dave Lewis was, which is saying something. Wasn't happy with him last year and not happy this year so far. We need a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 11 hours ago, Haliax said: Team was terrible today, they don't have a proper system and they don't have any D talent. Team gets pinned in their zone, and even when they get the puck moving, the D just neuters the transition game. Blashill also seems to be a less effective coach than even Dave Lewis was, which is saying something. Wasn't happy with him last year and not happy this year so far. We need a change. I turned the sound off and listened to Paul Woods on the radio instead of the rah rah aren't we great that comes from Mickey all the time. Woods is insightful, has been involved as a player or announcer for 38 years of Wings hockey and is as impartial as a home team announcer can be. He was disgusted last night, the choppy play, one offside or shooting the puck over the boards after another, absolutely no flow to the game at all. Like you (and I) Woods was very critical of the transition game and openly questioned the pairings and wondered if/when we would see Sproul on the back end. Outscored 10-5 through the first two games. Not much to be happy about other than there is no other Florida team left to beat up on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 @Haliax @yave1964 Awful, just awful except between the pipes. I appreciated his bounce-back game after letting in a couple last game despite an otherwise very good performance. He was magnificent and was the ONLY reason this was still a game going into the 3rd. BTW, yave, even Mickey corrected Ken when he said that the Wings had few chances in the 2nd. Mickey said, "No, those were opportunities, not quality scoring chances. They didn't have any of those. They wasted any opportunities they had." This keeps up, heads will roll. If you have created a unit and a system where Dylan Larkin is almost a non-factor offensively, you are doing something wrong. I'm not even gonna get started on our D. Suffice it to say, if you play 3/4 of the gam in your 1/2 of the ice, no D will look good. Gonna be a looong season if things don't change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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